Sumner v. Buel
New York Supreme Court
THIS was ■an action for a libel published in a newspaper, called the Albany Argus, on the 39th óf August, 1814. The. defendant suffered judgment by default, and the plaintiff’s damages were assessed at six cents. The defendant now moved in arrest of judgment, The declaration stated that the plaintiff was an ensign commanding a company of riflemen, called the Albany Greens, in the regiment of riflemen commanded by Colonel Lockwood.
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THIS was ■an action for a libel published in a newspaper, called the Albany Argus, on the 39th óf August, 1814. The. defendant suffered judgment by default, and the plaintiff’s damages were assessed at six cents. The defendant now moved in arrest of judgment, The declaration stated that the plaintiff was an ensign commanding a company of riflemen, called the Albany Greens, in the regiment of riflemen commanded by Colonel Lockwood. The libel set out in the declaration was in the following words1': “ In 1813, some companies of a regiment of riflemen were called, upon to perform a few weeks’…
1Opinion of the Court
Thompson, Ch. J.,
This is an action for á libel, published by the defendant, against the officers of Colonel Lockwoodh regiment, of whom the plaintiff is averred to be one. But the. publication has no particular or personal application to the plaintiff. The present is a motion in arrest of judgment, on the ground of the generality of the libel.
It is a general rule, that' no writing whatever is to be deemed a libel, unless it reflects upon some particular person. (Hawk. P. C. b. 1. ch. 73. s. 9.) A writing which inveighs against mankind in general, or against a particular order of men, is no…
2Cited by11 opinions
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- Neiman-Marcus Co. v. LaitDistrict Court, S.D. New York · 1952
- Stewart v. WilsonSupreme Court of Minnesota · 1877
- Van Ingen v. Mail & Express Pub. Co.New York Court of Common Pleas · 1895
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