Hett v. Ploetz

The plaintiff contends that he was libeled by the defendant’s response to an inquiry from a prospective employer of the plaintiff. Hett had not only given Ploetz’s name as a reference but had also given express permission to the prospective employer to communicate with Ploetz.

We must resolve two questions. The first is whether any privilege insulates the defendant’s letter; the second is whether an issue of malice exists for trial.

Conditional Privilege.

It is clear that Ploetz’s allegedly defamatory letter was entitled to a conditional privilege. Ploetz was privileged to give a critical…