Pennington v. Meeks
Supreme Court of Missouri
Jlppeal from Fourth .District Court. I. Plaintiff lias united several causes of action in one and the same count. (34 Mo. 134 ; 36 Mo. 202 ; 39 Mo. 451.) II. The words should be laid in the petition as uttered. (Watson v. Musick, 2 Mo. 29; 7 Mo. 324; 26 Mo. 153-61.) III. While words actionable per se import malice, yet the presumption of malice is not conclusive. (2 Kern. 67 — 74.) I. The appellant gains nothing by insisting that the words charged vary from those proven.
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Jlppeal from Fourth .District Court. I. Plaintiff lias united several causes of action in one and the same count. (34 Mo. 134 ; 36 Mo. 202 ; 39 Mo. 451.) II. The words should be laid in the petition as uttered. (Watson v. Musick, 2 Mo. 29; 7 Mo. 324; 26 Mo. 153-61.) III. While words actionable per se import malice, yet the presumption of malice is not conclusive. (2 Kern. 67 — 74.) I. The appellant gains nothing by insisting that the words charged vary from those proven. They 'differed in the words '■'•he stole,” etc., and “ Bennington stole,” etc., both in the third person. (8 Johns. 75.)…
1Opinion of the CourtCuiutiER, Judge
This action was brought to recover damages for words alleged to have been spoken by the defendant, which imputed to plaintiff the commission of an immoral and indictable offense. The words charged are: “ He (meaning the plaintiff’) stole my hog, and I can prove it.” The words are also charged in this form: “He (meaning the plaintiff) stole one of our hogs.” The variation is immaterial. The material words are not only of the same signification, but are identical in both forms of expression. The other immaterial words are slightly modified so as to meet the proof under the different shapes in…
2Cases cited4 opinions
- Birch v. BentonSupreme Court of Missouri · 1858
- Creelman v. MarksIndiana Supreme Court · 1844
- Rathbun v. EmighNew York Supreme Court · 1831
- Sibly v. HoodSupreme Court of Missouri · 1834
3Cited by19 opinions
- Christal v. CraigSupreme Court of Missouri · 1883
- Noeninger v. VogtSupreme Court of Missouri · 1886
- Lewis v. McDanielSupreme Court of Missouri · 1884
- Pokrok Zapadu Publishing Co. v. ZizkovskyNebraska Supreme Court · 1894
- Wood v. HilbishMissouri Court of Appeals · 1886
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