Valentine v. North American Co. for Life & Health Insurance

Plaintiff, John Valentine, filed a suit in the circuit court of Peoria County against North American Company for Life and Health Insurance, a corporation, and Gerald Kaufman, charging that he had been slandered by the utterance of words which had prejudiced him in his business or calling. The trial court held that the words used were slanderous per se and so instructed the jury. A verdict was rendered assessing damages against the defendants in the sum of $5,000 as compensatory damages and $10,000 as punitive damages. The appellate court reversed the judgment for the plaintiff. (16 Ill. App.…