Hannegan v. Read Magazine, Inc.

The falsity of appellees’ advertising seems to me as clear as its truth seems to the majority of the court. The ques-tion before the court is not whether my view is right but whether it is reasonable.

Any language or conduct that is intended to convey a false impression is a false pretense. No special form is necessary. I think appellees, in several advertisements, made false pretenses concerning the nature of the contest, its extent and duration, and its cost to contestants. I shall discuss only one advertisement and only one sort of pretense.

The puzzles were simple. Appellees knew from…