Gottbehuet v. Hubachek
Wisconsin Supreme Court
APPEAL from the Circuit Court for Racine County. Slander. The plaintiff was chief enginéer of the fire department of the city of Racine, and the alleged slanderous words charged him with drunkenness on the night of a fire in that city, April 29, 1873. Upon the trial, defendant objected to the introduction of any testimony under the complaint, for the reason that sec. 4, ch. 127, Laws of 1872, making it a misdemeanor to become intoxicated, had been repealed since the action…
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APPEAL from the Circuit Court for Racine County. Slander. The plaintiff was chief enginéer of the fire department of the city of Racine, and the alleged slanderous words charged him with drunkenness on the night of a fire in that city, April 29, 1873. Upon the trial, defendant objected to the introduction of any testimony under the complaint, for the reason that sec. 4, ch. 127, Laws of 1872, making it a misdemeanor to become intoxicated, had been repealed since the action was' begun. The objection was overruled. . It was proven, in behalf of plaintiff, that on the night of the fire in…
1Opinion of the CourtRyan, C. J.
We cannot think it material whether, at the time of the slander, drunkenness was a crime by law, or whether it had ceased to be so before the trial of this action. We take it to be an elementary rule, that “words are actionable which directly tend to the prejudice of any one in his office, profession, trade or business.” 1 Starkie on Slander, 117. This rule is expressly recognized and asserted in Lansing v. Carpenter, 9 Wis., 540. And surely it tends directly to the prejudice of the chief engineer of a fire department, to accuse him of being drunk at a fire which it was his duty to…
2Cases cited3 opinions
- Chaddock v. BriggsMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1816
- Filber v. DautermannWisconsin Supreme Court · 1871
- Lansing v. CarpenterWisconsin Supreme Court · 1859
3Cited by13 opinions
- Dowie v. PriddleIllinois Supreme Court · 1905
- Donaghue v. GaffySupreme Court of Connecticut · 1886
- White v. ValentaCalifornia Court of Appeal · 1965
- Amick v. MontrossSupreme Court of Iowa · 1928
- Singer v. BenderWisconsin Supreme Court · 1885
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