Pacella v. Milford Radio Corp.

In 1975 Nicholas P. Pacella was a candidate for the Milford board of selectmen. On the day before the election, an anonymous caller telephoned the corporate defendant’s radio station and made certain defamatory remarks directed against Pacella on a talk show devoted to the election. Although an electronic delay system gave the defendant Joseph G. Hyder, the talk show’s host, a seven-second preview of the caller’s question and an opportunity to prevent its broadcast, he did not use the abort button. Pacella lost the election and, in this libel action, sued Hyder and the corporate defendant,…