Ellis v. Northern Star Co.

MITCHELL, Justice.

The questions presented on appeal include (1) whether a letter sent by the defendants to some of the plaintiffs’ business contacts is libelous per se, and (2) whether libel per se of a plaintiff relating to the conduct of its business constitutes an unfair or deceptive act affecting commerce in violation of N.C.G.S. § 75-1.1. We conclude that the letter in question was properly found to be libelous per se. We further conclude that libel per se of a plaintiff as to the conduct of its business does violate N.C.G.S. § 75-1.1 and, when the libel proximately causes injury to the…