Elmergreen v. Horn
Wisconsin Supreme Court
Appeal from a judgment of the circuit court for Ozaukee county: James J. Dice, Circuit Judge. Action to recover damages. This is the substance of the complaint: Plaintiff is and has been for many years a practicing physician, fully qualified, under the laws of this state, to pursue his profession therein.
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Appeal from a judgment of the circuit court for Ozaukee county: James J. Dice, Circuit Judge. Action to recover damages. This is the substance of the complaint: Plaintiff is and has been for many years a practicing physician, fully qualified, under the laws of this state, to pursue his profession therein. Defendant, on October 31, 1900, maliciously composed and published in a newspaper called the “Cedarburg News,” of which he was the editor, publisher, and proprietor, at Cedarburg, Wisconsin, of and concerning the plaintiff in his capacity as a physician and surgeon, the following false,…
1Opinion of the CourtMaeshaxl, J.
The exception to the court’s refusal to instruct as requested, in effect taking away from the jury the question of whether the article complained of was libelous per se, is all that need be considered. It was correctly ruled that to speak of a physician in his professional capacity as a “quack” is to call him a mere pretender, a person boasting of attainments he does not possess, and is libelous as a matter of law; so the argument here on that subject was unnecessary on the part of appellant. It was further correctly ruled, as conceded by appellant’s counsel, that in a ease of this kind, if…
2Cases cited3 opinions
- Campbell v. CampbellWisconsin Supreme Court · 1882
- Schild v. LeglerWisconsin Supreme Court · 1892
- Pandow v. EichstedWisconsin Supreme Court · 1895
3Cited by4 opinions
- Lathrop v. SundbergWashington Supreme Court · 1909
- Gardella v. Log Cabin Products Co.Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit · 1937
- Culver v. MarxWisconsin Supreme Court · 1914
- Kloths v. HessWisconsin Supreme Court · 1906