Norton v. Livingston
Supreme Court of Vermont
Action for libel. Plea, the general issue with notice of special matter in justification. Trial by jury at the February term, 1892, Bennington county, Tyler, J., presiding. Verdict and judgment for tlie plaintiff. The defendant excepts. Tlie libel sued upon was as follows: “ Luman P. Norton is tlie only insurance agent in Vermont wlio has been convicted in open court of wilful perjury,” and this was the whole publication.
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Action for libel. Plea, the general issue with notice of special matter in justification. Trial by jury at the February term, 1892, Bennington county, Tyler, J., presiding. Verdict and judgment for tlie plaintiff. The defendant excepts. Tlie libel sued upon was as follows: “ Luman P. Norton is tlie only insurance agent in Vermont wlio has been convicted in open court of wilful perjury,” and this was the whole publication. The plaintiff alleged by tlie innuendos in his declaration that tlie defendant meant thereby to charge the plaintiff with having been indicted, tried and convicted of…
1Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court was delivered by
ROWELL, J.
The defendant did not attempt to justify the publication in the sense ascribed to it in the innuendo, but claimed that it is capable of being understood in another and a different sense, and sought to have that sense found by the jury and to justify accordingly, admitting a libel in either sense.
The basis of his position in respect of justification is, that the plaintiff was not bound by the innuendo, but was at liberty to abandon it and to rely forrecovei-y on the meaning claimed by the defendant, and that therefore the defendant had a right…
2Cases cited4 opinions
- Lewis and Herrick v. . ChapmanNew York Court of Appeals · 1857
- Hunt v. . BennettNew York Court of Appeals · 1859
- Bourreseau v. Detroit Evening Journal Co.Michigan Supreme Court · 1886
- Gregory v. AtkinsSupreme Court of Vermont · 1869
3Cited by3 opinions
- Lancour v. Herald & Globe Ass'nSupreme Court of Vermont · 1941
- State v. SuttonSupreme Court of Vermont · 1901
- Gordon v. Journal Publishing Co.Supreme Court of Vermont · 1908