Shanks v. Stumpf

Gaynor J.:

The libelous publication is a severe stricture upon some unnamed individual.- That the plaintiff was meant by it had to be proved by evidence de hors. The (answer denies that it was published of and concerning him. The- answer then states, “ that the facts forming the foundation of said alleged libel were received by the defendants in the ordinary course of business ”, that they “were examined into and verified before publication”, and that they were then published by the defendants “ in the honest belief that said facts were true, and without any malice or evil design whatsoever,…