Rathbun v. Emigh
New York Supreme Court
Demurrer to declaration. The action is slander. The first count charges that in a conversation had by the defendant, on, &c. at, &c. of and concerning the plaintiff and his occupation as a sawyer of lumber and dealer therein, and of anj concerning his business and occupation as a farmer and se^er ^Y retail of agricultural products by.him raised, the defendant said : “ He keeps false books; he keeps false books of accounts, and I can prove it in five minutes.”
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Demurrer to declaration. The action is slander. The first count charges that in a conversation had by the defendant, on, &c. at, &c. of and concerning the plaintiff and his occupation as a sawyer of lumber and dealer therein, and of anj concerning his business and occupation as a farmer and se^er ^Y retail of agricultural products by.him raised, the defendant said : “ He keeps false books; he keeps false books of accounts, and I can prove it in five minutes.” The second count charges, that “on the day and year, and at the place last aforesaid,” the defendant spoke the following words, in a…
1Opinion of the Court
By the Court,
Savage, Cb. J.
It is urged by the defendant’s counsel that it is not actionable to charge a man with keeping false books, unless he be a merchant, or mechanic, or some one whose business necessarily leads to dealing on credit, to whose business the keeping of books is incident, and whose success must depend npon the character of his *409books. There is another consideration which appears to » have influenced the courts in some of the old cases—which is, that books of account may be necessarily used as testimony, and to slander a man’s books is destroying his testimony. This last…
2Cited by7 opinions
- Sweeney v. BakerWest Virginia Supreme Court · 1878
- Spence v. JohnsonSupreme Court of Georgia · 1914
- Pennington v. MeeksSupreme Court of Missouri · 1870
- Ramsey v. JohnsonWyoming Supreme Court · 1899
- Patterson v. WilkinsonSupreme Judicial Court of Maine · 1867
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