Loftsgaarden v. Reiling

Sheran, Justice.

Appeal from a judgment of the district court.

In a libel action the jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff assessing actual damages as “$0” and punitive damages at $5,000 after the court had ruled that the publication was libelous per se. Defendant’s motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict was granted and judgment was directed in favor of defendant. Although we have not been provided with a settled case, it is clear that the order of the trial court must have been based on the ground that in a libel per se action 1 punitive damages are not recoverable in the absence…