Newell v. Field Enterprises, Inc.

In this appeal we face several issues involving both fundamental principles of common law libel and constitutional limitations, imposed under the first amendment, on the liability of the press for libel. Plaintiff, George Newell, alleged that a newspaper article, printed in the Chicago Daily News and published by the defendant Field Enterprises, Inc., contained defamatory statements about him. The article purported to be a summary of a civil complaint in a wrongful death action brought against Newell. In granting summary judgment for defendant, the trial court stated that the article was a…