Gott v. Pulsifer
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Tort. The declaration alleged that, at the time of the pub lication hereinafter referred to, the plaintiff was the owner of a certain stone figure or image, being or resembling a colossal statue of a man, which statue, figure or image was formerly exhumed at Cardiff in the State of New York, and was publicly known as the “ Cardiff Giant ” or “ Onondaga Statue ” ; that the statue was of great value to the plaintiff as a scientific curiosity and for the purpose of exhibiting…
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Tort. The declaration alleged that, at the time of the pub lication hereinafter referred to, the plaintiff was the owner of a certain stone figure or image, being or resembling a colossal statue of a man, which statue, figure or image was formerly exhumed at Cardiff in the State of New York, and was publicly known as the “ Cardiff Giant ” or “ Onondaga Statue ” ; that the statue was of great value to the plaintiff as a scientific curiosity and for the purpose of exhibiting the same as such curiosity, and had long been a source of great gain and profit to the plaintiff by exhibiting the same…
1Opinion of the CourtGray, C. J.
This action is not for a libel upon the plaintiff, but for publishing a false and malicious statement concerning his property, and could not be supported without allegation and' proof of special damage. Malachy v. Soper, 3 Bing. N. C. 371; S. C. 3 Scott, 723. Swan v. Tapp an, 5 Cush. 104. The special damage alleged was the loss of the sale of the plaintiff’s statue to Palmer. Evidence of the value of the statue as a scientific curiosity or for purposes of exhibition was therefore rightly rejected as immaterial.
The editor of a newspaper has the right, if not the duty, of publishing, for the…
2Cases cited1 opinion
- Moore v. StevensonSupreme Court of Connecticut · 1858
3Cited by48 opinions
- Bratt v. International Business MacHines Corp.Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1984
- Hartmann v. Boston Herald-Traveler Corp.Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1948
- Bander v. Metropolitan Life InsuranceMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1943
- Hoeppner v. Dunkirk Printing Co.New York Court of Appeals · 1930
- Dulgarian v. StoneMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1995
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