Marion v. Davis

BROWN, X

Words falsely imputing to a woman a want of chastity, whether oral or written,- are .by statute made prima facie malicious, and -are actionable per se. Code of 1923, § 7359. But we have no statute extending this degree of protection to persons of the male sex, and, in determining whether or not plaintiff has stated a cause of action in any one or inore of the counts of his complaint, .we must look- to the rules of the common law applicable in such cases.

The right to the enjoyment of a private reputation, unassailed by malicious slander, is of ancient origin, and is necessary to human…