Van Tuil v. Carroll

The plaintiff, Norbert Van Tuil, brought an action against defendant Lewis Carroll for libelous defamation of his character allegedly resulting from the mailing, by defendant to plaintiff’s employer of a carbon copy of a letter. The trial court entered an order sustaining defendant’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s complaint and dismissing the suit at plaintiff’s cost. On appeal the plaintiff contends that the trial court improperly interpreted and applied the rule of innocent construction.

The rule of innocent construction provides that words allegedly libelous that are capable of being read…