Bassell v. . Elmore
New York Court of Appeals
Appeal from judgment of the General Term of the Supreme Court in the fifth judicial district, affirming a judgment in favor of plaintiff entered upon a verdict. This is an action of slander. The complaint contains two counts, in each of which it is alleged that the defendant, in 1862, charged the plaintiff with being a public prostitute, and with having had illicit intercourse with divers men.
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Appeal from judgment of the General Term of the Supreme Court in the fifth judicial district, affirming a judgment in favor of plaintiff entered upon a verdict. This is an action of slander. The complaint contains two counts, in each of which it is alleged that the defendant, in 1862, charged the plaintiff with being a public prostitute, and with having had illicit intercourse with divers men. The only allegation of damage in the second count is that the slanderous statement greatly injured the plaintiff in her good name, and caused her relatives and friends to slight and shun her. The answer…
1Opinion of the Court
The defendant received hard measure of justice at the hands of the jury, but for this he has no remedy here. We can review only errors of law, and of these the defendant claims there were several at the trial.
The second count in the complaint was undoubtedly defective, because it did not allege any special damage which has been recognized as sufficient in law to uphold an action like this. It simply alleged that the slanderous charge injured plaintiff in her good name, and caused her relatives and friends to slight and shun her, to her damage $2,000. (Beach v. Ranney, 2 Hill., 309;…
2Cases cited4 opinions
- Terwilliger v. . WandsNew York Court of Appeals · 1858
- Thorn v. . KnappNew York Court of Appeals · 1870
- Wilson v. . GoitNew York Court of Appeals · 1858
- Johnson v. BrownNew York Supreme Court · 1870
3Cited by17 opinions
- Karaduman v. Newsday, Inc.New York Court of Appeals · 1980
- O'Connell v. . Press Publishing Co.New York Court of Appeals · 1915
- Elmer v. FessendenMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1890
- Wilson v. DuboisSupreme Court of Minnesota · 1886
- Frawley Chemical Corp. v. A. P. Larson Co.Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York · 1949
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