Castelloe v. . Phelps

Are tbe words “You have committed a crime and you ought to be put on the roads,” addressed to one in the presence of others, and later repeated to another, actionable per se? We think so, when viewed in the light of their imputation and the circumstances under which they were uttered in the instant case.

The words spoken by the defendant, considering the manner and circumstance of their use, as pointed out in Cotton v. Fisheries Products Co., Ill N. C., 56, 97 S. E., 712, permit the inference, and were probably understood by those who heard them to mean, that the defendant intended to impute…