Kane v. Boston Mutual Life Insurance
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Tort for slander. Writ in the Superior Court for the County of Essex dated April 20, 1907. At the trial, which was before Sanderson, J., the plaintiff offered to prove the following facts: That he was an employee of the Columbian National Life Insurance Company previous to September, 1906, and continued in such employ until after the last date mentioned in the plaintiff’s declaration, and had been earning about $12 per week, with a varying commission in addition; that three…
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Tort for slander. Writ in the Superior Court for the County of Essex dated April 20, 1907. At the trial, which was before Sanderson, J., the plaintiff offered to prove the following facts: That he was an employee of the Columbian National Life Insurance Company previous to September, 1906, and continued in such employ until after the last date mentioned in the plaintiff’s declaration, and had been earning about $12 per week, with a varying commission in addition; that three employees of the defendant, whose business was that of soliciting insurance for the defendant, severally published on…
1Opinion of the CourtSheldon, J.
It may be assumed that the words alleged to have been uttered by the defendant’s agents were spoken of the plaintiff in his business of an insurance solicitor, and that they were actionable. Lovejoy v. Whitcomb, 174 Mass. 586, 588, and cases cited. But the vital question is whether the defendant corporation can be held responsible for them.
It could not be found that any actual authority had been *268given by the defendant to its solicitors to make the slanderous statements, or that they were made with its knowledge; nor did anything in the plaintiff’s offer of proof tend to show that there had…
2Cases cited12 opinions
- Washington Gas Light Co. v. LansdenSupreme Court of the United States · 1899
- Philadelphia, Wilmington, & Baltimore Railroad v. QuigleySupreme Court of the United States · 1859
- Behre v. National Cash Register Co.Supreme Court of Georgia · 1897
- Hussey v. Norfolk Southern RailroadSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1887
- Singer Manufacturing Co. v. TaylorSupreme Court of Alabama · 1907
7 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by14 opinions
- Finnish Temperance Society Sovittaja v. Finnish Socialistic Publishing Co.Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1921
- Hines v. GravinsSupreme Court of Virginia · 1922
- Southern Ice Co. v. BlackTennessee Supreme Court · 1916
- Southwestern Telegraph & Telephone Co. v. LongCourt of Appeals of Texas · 1915
- Mills v. W. T. Grant Co.Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1919
9 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.