State Press Co. v. Willett

The appellee, a clergyman, brought this libel suit against the appellant, a newspaper publisher. Upon this appeal the main question is whether the trial judge was justified in giving what amounted to a peremptory instruction for the plaintiff upon the issue of the defendant’s liability for compensatory damages. The court also told the jury that the plaintiff was entitled to punitive damages if the libelous matter was published with actual malice. The jury returned a verdict for $100 compensatory damages and $1,400 punitive damages, and a judgment was entered upon the verdict.

The plaintiff is…