Greenlee v. Coffman
Supreme Court of Iowa
Appeal from Eeohulc District Court. — K. E. Willcockson, Judge. Action for slander. The answer was a plea of justification and a plea in mitigation. There was a verdict for the plaintiff of one dollar. From judgment on the verdict, the plaintiff has appealed.
1Opinion of the CourtEvans, J.
The slanderous words charged against the defendant were, in substance, that the defendant said to the plaintiff, during an altercation, “You are a thief.” The utterance of these slanderous words was admitted by the defendant. The defendant pleaded the truth of the statement in justification. The facts pleaded in justification were that the plaintiff had stolen certain of defendant’s fence posts from his field. In mitigation, he pleaded, also, that he had *1093good reason to believe, and did in good faith, believe, that the plaintiff had stolen his fence posts. The plaintiff admitted, as a witness,…
2Cases cited5 opinions
- Terwilliger v. . WandsNew York Court of Appeals · 1858
- Turner v. HearstCalifornia Supreme Court · 1896
- Prime v. EastwoodSupreme Court of Iowa · 1877
- Davis v. MohnSupreme Court of Iowa · 1910
- Mills v. FlynnSupreme Court of Iowa · 1912
3Cited by3 opinions
- Shultz v. ShultzSupreme Court of Iowa · 1937
- Solar v. ResnickSupreme Court of Iowa · 1921
- Waite v. Stockgrowers' Credit Corp.North Dakota Supreme Court · 1933