Woods v. . Wiman
New York Court of Appeals
Appeal from judgment of the General Term of the Supreme Court in the second judicial department, entered upon an order made the second Monday of May, 1888, which affirmed a judgment in favor of defendant, entered upon an order dismissing the complaint on trial This action was brought to recover damages for libel.
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Appeal from judgment of the General Term of the Supreme Court in the second judicial department, entered upon an order made the second Monday of May, 1888, which affirmed a judgment in favor of defendant, entered upon an order dismissing the complaint on trial This action was brought to recover damages for libel. When the bill which .became chapter 672 of the Laws 4of 1886 — relating to imprisonment for debt—was pending in the legislature, Mr. Edward P. Wilder, a lawyer, published a pamphlet in opposition to its passage. Mr. Gilbert R. Hawes, a lawyer, was retained by the debtors imprisoned…
1Opinion of the Court
Follett, Ch. J.
Whether the public statutes of the state shall be changed is a matter of general interest and of common concern, and information given to the governor for the purpose of influencing his action on a bill which has passed the legis- ' lature is prima facie privileged; but if the communication contains defamatory matter and is unnecessarily published to others, such publication is not privileged. (Coffin v. Coffin, 4 Mass. 1; Rex v. Creevey, 1 M. & S. 273; Odgers on L. & S. [2d ed.] 186; Folkard’s Starky L. & S. 202, 205; Newell on Def. 471; Towns. L. & S. [4th ed.] 217.)
Had the…
2Cases cited1 opinion
- Coffin v. CoffinMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1808
3Cited by6 opinions
- Andrews v. . GardinerNew York Court of Appeals · 1918
- Bingham v. . GaynorNew York Court of Appeals · 1911
- Andrews v. GardinerAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York · 1915
- Bingham v. GaynorNew York Supreme Court · 1910
- Coll v. GandíaSupreme Court of Puerto Rico · 1921
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