Cowley v. Pulsifer

This is an action against the owners and publishers of the Boston Herald for a libel printed in that newspaper. The alleged libel was a report of the contents of a petition for the removal of the plaintiff, an attorney at law, *393from the bar. The report was fair and correct, but the petition included allegations which would be actionable unless justified. In their answer the defendants rely upon privilege; and the main question raised by the plaintiff’s exceptions is whether the publication was privileged, as ruled by the court below.

The petition had been presented to the clerk of the Supreme…