Schieffelin v. Hylan

Levy, J.:

This is a motion by the defendant for judgment on the pleadings in an action for libel, and I am thereby asked to determine the sufficiency of the complaint. The Appellate Division on a previous occasion has had the consideration of the pleadings in this issue before it in Schieffelin v. Hylan (205 App. Div. 360), which «was a motion to strike out the fourth separate defense of “ justification." The court's ruling was as follows: “ A bare inspection of the complaint and of the fourth defense demonstrates that the justification pleaded falls far short of being as broad as the charge."

I…