Behee v. Missouri Pacific Railway Co.
Texas Supreme Court
Appeal from Tarrant. Tried below before the Hon. R. E. Beckham, This is a suit by C. Behee against the Missouri Pacific Railway Company to recover damages on account of a libel published and circulated concerning him, relative to his trade and calling.
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Appeal from Tarrant. Tried below before the Hon. R. E. Beckham, This is a suit by C. Behee against the Missouri Pacific Railway Company to recover damages on account of a libel published and circulated concerning him, relative to his trade and calling. Said libel was alleged to have been published in November or December, 1883, and continuously from then on, circulated by defendant in Tarrant county, Texas, and other counties of said State, as well as in other States of the American Union, a great many copies of the same being circulated. The libelous document was alleged to be a book or…
1Opinion of the Court
Collard, Judge.
Malice is a necessary ingredient of libel. When a defamatory and false publication is made by one person of another malice will be imputed to the act; but where the publication is privileged and is believed to be true the prima facie case of libel so made is deemed to have been fully met; and then to sustain the action malice must be shown to exist by other evidence as by the style or manner of the writing or by extraneous facts. These principles were clearly announced by Associate Justice Roberts in the well considered case of Holt v. Parsons (23 Texas, 21). They were then and…
2Cases cited3 opinions
- P. J. Willis & Bro. v. McNeillTexas Supreme Court · 1882
- Holt v. ParsonsTexas Supreme Court · 1859
- Stansell & Younger v. ClevelandTexas Supreme Court · 1885
3Cited by22 opinions
- Denton Publishing Company v. BoydTexas Supreme Court · 1970
- Bradstreet Co. v. GillTexas Supreme Court · 1888
- Runge v. FranklinTexas Supreme Court · 1889
- Vaughn v. Drennon, Texas Court of Appeals, 12th District (Tyler)2006
- Fitzjarrald v. Panhandle Publishing Co.Texas Supreme Court · 1950
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