Ellis v. Northern Star Co.

I respectfully dissent from the majority’s holding that the letter sent by defendant company to several of plaintiffs’ business associates constitutes libel per se because it contains the assertion, “[w]e at Northern Star Company did not authorize such a price list.” I do not believe that the phrase in question, when given its ordinary, everyday meaning, can only be interpreted as defamatory. Rather, the most that can be said is that the words can fairly and reasonably be interpreted in two ways, one of which is defamatory and the other of which is not.

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