Drown v. Allen
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Error to the Court of Common Pleas of Brie county: Of October and November Term 1879, No. 217. Case by E. V. Allen against William L. Drown for slander. The material facts are stated in the opinion of this court.
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Error to the Court of Common Pleas of Brie county: Of October and November Term 1879, No. 217. Case by E. V. Allen against William L. Drown for slander. The material facts are stated in the opinion of this court. The verdict was for plaintiff for $410.41. General reputation of want of good character, in the particular in which it has been assailed, is receivable in evidence in mitigation of damages and to show want of malice: Conroe v. Conroe, 11 Wright 200; Moyer v. Moyer, 13 Id. 211. When, therefore, the alleged slander is an accusation that the plaintiff is a thief, how, upon principle or…
1Opinion of the CourtJustice Paxson
This was an action on the case for slander. The plaintiff is a minister of the gospel in the Zion Church. The alleged slander consisted in the charge that he was a thief and had stolen a sheep. Pleas: the general issue and justification. Upon the trial, the counsel for defendant proposed to ask the witness upon the stand, “What is the general reputation of the plaintiff as to being a thief?” The question was objected to by the plaintiff, and the objection was sustained by the court, the learned judge holding that the proper question to be put is, “ What is the general reputation of the…
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