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

This is an appeal from a judgment of the Circuit Court of Peoria County, Illinois, which allowed the plaintiff, John J. Valentine, compensatory damages of $5,000 and punitive damages of $10,000 after a jury verdict. The defendants, North American Company for Life and Health Insurance, a corporation, and Gerald Kaufman, an officer of that corporation, had been charged with slander.

The plaintiff since 1964 had been a full-time life insurance salesman. He had been very successful in his chosen occupation and for several years was a member of the Million Dollar Round Table. During the period from…