Starks v. Comer
Supreme Court of Alabama
Appeal from Birmingham City Court. Heard before Hon. C. C. Nesmith. Action by Braxton Bragg Comer against B. M. Starks and others for libel and slander. Judgment for plaintiff, and the defendant Starks appeals.
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Appeal from Birmingham City Court. Heard before Hon. C. C. Nesmith. Action by Braxton Bragg Comer against B. M. Starks and others for libel and slander. Judgment for plaintiff, and the defendant Starks appeals. The substance of the libelous matter and of the complaint charging the same may be found in 151 Ala. 613, 44 South. 673, 13 L. R. A. (N. S.) 515, and 172 Ala. 613, 55 South. 195. As a sample of the pleas referred to, plea 3 is as follows: The defendants say that, at the time of the publication of the alleged libelous matter, plaintiff was a candidate for the office of president of the…
1Opinion of the CourtSomerville, J.
The question of primary importance in this case is whether or not the communication made to1 the public by the defendant Starks, and others confederated with him, through the medium of the two Birmingham daily papers, was, though false, a privileged communication, if made with a bona fide belief in its verity, without actual' malice to the plaintiff, and only for the purpose of informing the voters of the state as to his character and fitness for the office of president of the Alabama Railroad Commission; the plaintiff being then a candidate for the party nomination for that office in the…
2Cases cited26 opinions
- Coleman v. MacLennanSupreme Court of Kansas · 1908
- Burt v. Advertiser Newspaper Co.Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1891
- Hamilton v. . EnoNew York Court of Appeals · 1880
- Commonwealth v. ClapMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1808
- Briggs v. GarrettSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1886
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3Cited by31 opinions
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- Berry v. City of New York Ins. Co.Supreme Court of Alabama · 1923
- Crutcher v. Wendy's of North Alabama, Inc.Supreme Court of Alabama · 2003
- City of Mobile v. McClureSupreme Court of Alabama · 1930
- Phillips v. AshworthSupreme Court of Alabama · 1929
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