Peterson v. Western Union Telegraph Co.
Supreme Court of Minnesota
Appeal by defendant from an order of the district court for Brown county, Webber, J., denying a motion for a new trial. The words were not libelous per se. If they had a peculiar mean- , ing at New Ulm, it is immaterial, since such meaning was not known . to the operator there or to the operator at the other end of the line.
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Appeal by defendant from an order of the district court for Brown county, Webber, J., denying a motion for a new trial. The words were not libelous per se. If they had a peculiar mean- , ing at New Ulm, it is immaterial, since such meaning was not known . to the operator there or to the operator at the other end of the line. Hankinson v. Bilby, 16 M. & W. 442; Shull v. Raymond, 23 Minn. 66. Even if in sending the telegram the New Ulm operator, though not legally excusable, was acting under a mistaken sense ■of duty, this is a case “at most for only compensatory and not for vindictive…
1Opinion of the CourtStart, C. J.
This is an action for libel, in which the plaintiff recovered a verdict for $5,200, and the defendant appealed from an order denying its motion for a new trial.
The defendant on January 19, 1893, received at its office in New Ulm, from Albert Blanchard, a message for transmission over its telegraph line to St. Paul, which read thus: “New Ulm, Minn. 1-19, 1893. To S. D. Peterson, Care Windsor, St. Paul, Minn.: Slippery Sam, your name is pants. [Signed] Many Republicans.” The New Ulm operator. sent the message over the wires to St. Paul, where it was taken from the wire by the operator, and…
2Cases cited1 opinion
- Wilkes v. ShieldsSupreme Court of Minnesota · 1895
3Cited by26 opinions
- Morse v. Times-Republican Printing Co.Supreme Court of Iowa · 1904
- Virtue v. Creamery Package Manufacturing Co.Supreme Court of Minnesota · 1913
- Arnold v. IngramWisconsin Supreme Court · 1913
- Shields v. BoolesCourt of Appeals of Kentucky (pre-1976) · 1931
- Flowers v. CarvilleDistrict Court, D. Nevada · 2003
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