Kupfer v. Brooklyn Daily Eagle

The court erred in submitting to the jury as an issue of fact whether the publication, in so far as complained of, was true or false. As a matter of law, it was false under the undisputed facts. The verdict, being for the defendant, imports that the jury did not correctly decide this question. The only issue of fact was whether there should be compensatory or punitive damages. The granting by the court of the plaintiff’s request that this be regarded as the only issue did not cure the prior error in the main charge, because that error was emphasized by the court in connection with later…