Sanderson v. . Caldwell
New York Court of Appeals
Appeal from a judgment of the late General Term of the second judicial district, affirming a judgment upon a verdict at the circuit in the county of Kings, rendered on the 8th day of February, 1869, in favor of the plaintiff. The judgment was for $5,000. This action was for a libel published by the defendants in the Sunday Mercury.
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Appeal from a judgment of the late General Term of the second judicial district, affirming a judgment upon a verdict at the circuit in the county of Kings, rendered on the 8th day of February, 1869, in favor of the plaintiff. The judgment was for $5,000. This action was for a libel published by the defendants in the Sunday Mercury. The plaintiff was a lawyer, practicing in Brooklyn, and was also a candidate for member of Assembly; the libelous article was published two days before election, and was as follows: “ Elnathan L. Sanderson, extra-radical candidate for Assembly from the third,…
1Opinion of the CourtAndrews, J.
The court properly refused to instruct the jury that the article published by the defendant was not libelous. That instruction would only have been proper in case i„t was' incapable of a construction injurious to the plaintiff.
In an action for defamation, if the application or meaning of the words is ambiguous, or the sense in which they were used is uncertain, and they are capable of a construction which would make them actionable, although at the same time an innocent sense can be attributed to them, it is for the jury to determine upon all the circumstances, whether they were applied to…
2Cases cited1 opinion
- Chaddock v. BriggsMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1816
3Cited by123 opinions
- Moore v. . FrancisNew York Court of Appeals · 1890
- Nichols v. Item Publishers, Inc.New York Court of Appeals · 1956
- Rager v. McCloskeyNew York Court of Appeals · 1953
- Morrison v. . SmithNew York Court of Appeals · 1904
- Bergmann v. . JonesNew York Court of Appeals · 1883
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