Cady v. Brooklyn Union Publishing Co.
New York Supreme Court
Action for libel. Motion on the minutes to set aside a verdict for the plaintiff on the ground that the words- were not libelous per se, and that therefore, as no special damage had been pleaded, no cause of ¡action was alleged; ¡also m the ground that there was- no malice.
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Action for libel. Motion on the minutes to set aside a verdict for the plaintiff on the ground that the words- were not libelous per se, and that therefore, as no special damage had been pleaded, no cause of ¡action was alleged; ¡also m the ground that there was- no malice. The alleged libel was a publication in the defendant’s newspaper that the plaintiff, a dentist with an office and practicing his -profession in-the city of Brooklyn, N. Y., had committed suicide the day before, in Baltimore, Md., by shooting himself.
1Opinion of the Court
Gaynor J.:
The trial proceeded mainly on the theory that the published words were libelous per se as touching the plaintiff in his professsion, for to publish of him that he had' committed suicide was at least as "injurious to him in his profession as would be a publication that he had suddenly abandoned his home and practice and gone to parts unknown, and that would be libelous. But I think they were also libelous per se without regard to his profession. The words complained of are not libelous per se as charging a criminal offense, for suicide is not a criminal offense in this state (Darrow…
2Cases cited14 opinions
- Moore v. . FrancisNew York Court of Appeals · 1890
- Pollard v. LyonSupreme Court of the United States · 1876
- Hemmens v. . NelsonNew York Court of Appeals · 1893
- Terwilliger v. . WandsNew York Court of Appeals · 1858
- Darrow v. . Family Fund SocietyNew York Court of Appeals · 1889
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3Cited by8 opinions
- Cohen v. New York Times Co.Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York · 1912
- Hume v. KuscheNew York Supreme Court · 1904
- Cruikshank v. BennettNew York Supreme Court · 1900
- Kehoe v. New York Tribune, Inc.Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York · 1930
- People v. HebberdNew York Supreme Court · 1916
3 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.