Charles Sivelle v. Fred N. Maloof, Fred N. Maloof v. Charles Sivelle

This is an action for libel in which the defendant was defaulted. The court assessed damages, after hearing, of $2,500.00, plus attorney’s fees. Both parties appealed. Plaintiff’s appeal asserting the award of damages to be inadequate is wholly frivolous. The claimed special damages were problematical, at best, if not entirely speculative. There could be no error in the court’s rejection thereof. As to general damages, libel is a classic situation where an award will rarely be disturbed for inadequacy. See, e. g., Kruglak v. Landre, 1965, 23 A.D.2d 758, 258 N.Y.S.2d 550 ($100 damages);…