Schrottman v. Barnicle

This case, which began as a claim of libel and invasion of privacy against a newspaper, an editor, and a reporter, was tried without jury before a judge of a District Court sitting by assignment in the Superior Court who found for the plaintiff against the reporter. The principal issue on appeal is whether the rule of Stone v. Essex County Newspapers, Inc., 367 Mass. 849 (1975), that a “private” person may recover for libel upon proof of negligence, should apply retroactively to the defendant’s newspaper article. We conclude that the Stone negligence standard should apply to this case and…