Douglas v. Douglas
Idaho Supreme Court
APPEAL from District Court, Bear Lake County. The .words “public prostitute” do not “necessarily and by reasonable intendment charge the plaintiff with” being a vagrant, and therefore they are not actionable per se, but special damages must be alleged and proved to warrant a recovery.
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APPEAL from District Court, Bear Lake County. The .words “public prostitute” do not “necessarily and by reasonable intendment charge the plaintiff with” being a vagrant, and therefore they are not actionable per se, but special damages must be alleged and proved to warrant a recovery. At common law these words would not have been actionable per se, and they can now only be so held on the theory that they charge.an indictable crime involving moral turpitude or would subject the accused to an infamous punishment. (Pollard v. Lyon, 91 U. S. 225; Davis v. Bladden, 17 Or. 259, 21 Pac. 140)…
1Opinion of the CourtHeston, J.
The plaintiff brings this action against the defendant to recover damages for certain alleged slanderous words charged to have been uttered by the defendant of and *295concerning tbe plaintiff. Defendant demurred generally to tbe complaint, wbicb demurrer was overruled, and exception taken by defendant to sucb ruling. The words charged in tbe complaint as having been uttered by the defendant are as follows: “That woman [meaning tbe plaintiff] is a woman of shady character. Mrs. Douglas is a public prostitute. She slept with my brother before she married him, and I can prove it. I proclaim this…
2Cases cited4 opinions
- Pollard v. LyonSupreme Court of the United States · 1876
- Martin v. StillwellNew York Supreme Court · 1816
- Widrig v. OyerNew York Supreme Court · 1816
- Hawley v. CoreyUtah Supreme Court · 1893
3Cited by9 opinions
- Barnett v. PhelpsOregon Supreme Court · 1920
- Estate of BrownIdaho Supreme Court · 1932
- State v. SheridanIdaho Supreme Court · 1908
- Ledlie v. WallenMontana Supreme Court · 1895
- Openshaw v. AdamsIdaho Supreme Court · 1968
4 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.