Chapter VI: Defamation (1)

CLUTTERBUCK _v._ CHAFFERS
AT NISI PRIUS, CORAM LORD ELLENBOROUGH, C. J., DECEMBER 14, 1816.
_Reported in 1 Starkie, 471._

This was an action for the publication of a libel.

The witness who was called to prove the publication of the libel (which was contained in a letter written by the defendant to the plaintiff) stated on cross-examination that the letter had been delivered to him folded up, but unsealed, and that without reading it, or allowing any other person to read it, he had delivered it to the plaintiff himself, as he had been directed.

LORD ELLENBOROUGH held that this did not amount to a publication which would support an action, although it would have sustained an indictment,[413] since a publication to the party himself tends to a breach of the peace.

_Verdict for the defendant._[414]

SNYDER _v._ ANDREWS
SUPREME COURT, NEW YORK, MARCH 5, 1849.
_Reported in 6 Barbour, 43._

This was an action on the case for a libel. The defendant pleaded the general issue, and gave notice of special matter.[415]

The cause was tried at the Saratoga circuit in November, 1847, before Justice Paige. On the trial the defendant admitted that he wrote the letter containing the alleged libel, sealed the same, and put it into the post-office at Saratoga Springs, directed to the plaintiff at his residence. The plaintiff proved by John R. Brown that the letter was read to the witness by the defendant at his office in the presence of a young man who was a clerk of the defendant. The defendant’s counsel then moved for a nonsuit, on the ground that a publication of the libel had not been proved. The judge denied the motion.

The jury found a verdict for the plaintiff of $250. And the defendant, upon a bill of exceptions, moved for a new trial.

WILLARD, J. The fact that the defendant read the letter to a stranger, before it was sent to the plaintiff, was not questioned on the trial, and is assumed to be true by the form of the objection; but it is insisted that such reading did not amount to a publication of the libel. No man incurs any civil responsibility by what he thinks or even writes, unless he divulges his thoughts to the temporal prejudice of another. Hence, a sealed letter containing libellous matter, if communicated to no one but to the party libelled, is not the foundation for a civil action, although it may be of an indictment. Lyle _v._ Clason, 1 Caines, 581; Hodges _v._ The State, 5 Humphrey, 112; 1 Wms. Saund. 132, _n._ 2; Phillips _v._ Jansen, 2 Esp. 626; 2 Starkie on Slander (Wend. ed.), 14. But where the defendant, knowing that letters addressed to the plaintiff were usually opened by and read by his clerk, wrote a libellous letter and directed it to the plaintiff and his clerk received and read it, it was held there was a sufficient publication to support the action. Delacroix _v._ Thevenot, 2 Stark. 63. And in Schenck _v._ Schenck, 1 Spencer, 208, a sealed letter addressed and delivered to the wife containing a libel on her husband was held a publication sufficient to enable the latter to sustain an action.[416] Reading or singing the contents of a libel in the presence of others has been adjudged a publication. 2 Starkie on Slander, 16; 5 Rep. 125; 9 Id. 59 b; 1 Saund. 132, _n._ 2. The reading of the letter in question by the defendant in the presence of Brown was a sufficient publication to sustain this action.

_New trial denied._[417]

DELACROIX _v._ THEVENOT
AT NISI PRIUS, CORAM LORD ELLENBOROUGH, C. J., MARCH 4, 1817.
_Reported in 2 Starkie, 63._

This was an action for a libel and slanderous words. The libel was contained in a letter directed to plaintiff.

A clerk of the plaintiff proved that he had received the letter; that it was in the handwriting of the defendant; and that in the absence of the plaintiff he was in the habit of opening letters directed to him which were not marked “private.” He further stated that defendant, who was well acquainted with the plaintiff, was aware of the nature of his (the clerk’s) employment, and that he believed defendant knew that witness was in the habit of opening plaintiff’s letters.

LORD ELLENBOROUGH said that there was sufficient evidence for the jury to consider whether defendant did not intend the letter to come to the hands of a third person, which would be a publication.

_Verdict for plaintiff. Damages, £100._[418]

SHEFFILL _v._ VAN DEUSEN
SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT, MASSACHUSETTS, SEPTEMBER TERM, 1859.
_Reported in 13 Gray, 304._

Action of tort for slander.

_Bigelow, J._[419] Proof of the publication of the defamatory words alleged in the declaration was essential to the maintenance of this action. Slander consists in uttering words to the injury of a person’s reputation. No such injury is done when the words are uttered only to the person concerning whom they are spoken, no one else being present or within hearing. It is damage done to character in the opinion of other men, and not in a party’s self-estimation, which constitutes the material element in an action for verbal slander. Even in a civil action for libel, evidence that the defendant wrote and sent a sealed letter to the plaintiff, containing defamatory matter, was held insufficient proof of publication; although it would be otherwise in an indictment for libel, because such writings tend directly to a breach of the peace. So, too, it must be shown that the words were spoken in the presence of some one who understood them. If spoken in a foreign language, which no one present understood, no action will lie therefor.[420] Edwards _v._ Wooton, 12 Co. 35; Hick’s Case, Pop. 139, Hob. 215; Wheeler & Appleton’s Case, Godb. 340; Phillips _v._ Jansen, 2 Esp. 624; Lyle _v._ Clason, 1 Caines, 581; Hammond N. P. 287.

It is quite immaterial in the present case that the words were spoken in a public place. The real question for the jury was, were they so spoken as to have been heard by third persons? The defendants were therefore entitled to the instructions for which they asked.

_Exceptions sustained._[421]

HANKINSON _v._ BILBY
IN THE EXCHEQUER, JANUARY 28, 1847.
_Reported in 16 Meeson & Welsby, 442._

Case. The declaration stated that the defendant, in the presence and hearing of divers subjects, falsely and maliciously charged the plaintiff, a gardener, with being a thief. Plea: Not guilty. At the trial, before Rolfe, B., it appeared that the words were uttered by the defendant, a toll collector, to the plaintiff, as he passed the Kingsland turnpike-gate, in the presence of several persons as well as the witness. The nature of the previous conversation between the plaintiff and defendant did not appear. The learned Baron told the jury that it was immaterial whether the defendant intended to convey a charge of felony against the plaintiff by the words used, the question being, whether the by-standers would understand that charge to be conveyed by them. Verdict for the plaintiff for £5.

_Humfrey_ now moved for a new trial, on the ground of misdirection.[422]

ALDERSON, B. In this case, had there been no by-standers who could understand the words as imputing felony, or who knew all about the affair respecting which they were uttered, the judge’s direction would have been wrong, for it would then be _damnum absque injuria_, the _injuria_ being the having no lawful occasion to impute felony.

PARKE, B. The witness appears to have been well acquainted with the affair to which the words related. If the by-standers were equally cognizant of it, the defendant would have been entitled to a verdict; but here the only question is, whether the private intention of a man who utters injurious words is material, if by-standers may fairly understand them in a sense and manner injurious to the party to whom they relate, _e. g._, that he was a felon.

Some doubt being suggested as to the facts proved, the court conferred with Rolfe, B.; and the next day,

POLLOCK, C. B., said, We find from my Brother Rolfe that there were several by-standers who not only might but must have heard the expressions which form the subject of this action. That disposes of the case as to the matter of law. Words uttered must be construed in the sense which hearers of common and reasonable understanding would ascribe to them, even though particular individuals better informed on the matter alluded to might form a different judgment on the subject.

_Rule refused._[423]

BROMAGE _v._ PROSSER
IN THE KING’S BENCH, EASTER TERM, 1825.
_Reported in 4 Barnewall & Cresswell, 247._

BAYLEY, J., now delivered the judgment of the court.[424] This was an action for slander. The plaintiffs were bankers at Monmouth, and the charge was, that in answer to a question from one Lewis Watkins, whether he, the defendant, had said that the plaintiff’s bank had stopped, the defendant’s answer was, “It was true, he had been told so.” The evidence was, that Watkins met defendant and said, “I hear that you say the bank of Bromage and Snead, at Monmouth, has stopped. Is it true?” Defendant said, “Yes, it is; I was told so.” He added, “It was so reported at Crickhowell, and nobody would take their bills, and that he had come to town in consequence of it himself.” Watkins said, “You had better take care what you say; you first brought the news to town, and told Mr. John Thomas of it.” Defendant repeated, “I was told so.” Defendant had been told, at Crickhowell, there was a run upon plaintiff’s bank, but not that it had stopped, or that nobody would take their bills, and what he said went greatly beyond what he had heard. The learned judge considered the words as proved, and he does not appear to have treated it as a case of privileged communication; but as the defendant did not appear to be actuated by any ill will against the plaintiffs, he told the jury that if they thought the words were not spoken maliciously, though they might unfortunately have produced injury to the plaintiffs, the defendant ought to have their verdict; but if they thought them spoken maliciously, they should find for the plaintiff: and the jury having found for the defendant, the question upon a motion for a new trial was upon the propriety of this direction. If in an ordinary case of slander (not a case of privileged communication), want of malice is a question of fact for the consideration of a jury, the direction was right; but if in such a case the law implies such malice as is necessary to maintain the action, it is the duty of the judge to withdraw the question of malice from the consideration of the jury: and it appears to us that the direction in this case was wrong. That malice, in some sense, is the gist of the action, and that therefore the manner and occasion of speaking the words is admissible in evidence to show they were not spoken with malice, is said to have been agreed (either by all the judges, or at least by the four who thought the truth might be given in evidence on the general issue) in Smith _v._ Richardson, Willes, 24; and it is laid down in 1 Com. Dig. action upon the case for defamation, G 5, that the declaration must show a malicious intent in the defendant, and there are some other very useful elementary books in which it is said that malice is the gist of the action, but in what sense the words malice or malicious intent are here to be understood, whether in the popular sense, or in the sense the law puts upon those expressions, none of these authorities state. Malice in common acceptation means ill-will against a person, but in its legal sense it means a wrongful act, done intentionally, without just cause or excuse. If I give a perfect stranger a blow likely to produce death, I do it of malice, because I do it intentionally and without just cause or excuse. If I maim cattle, without knowing whose they are; if I poison a fishery, without knowing the owner, I do it of malice, because it is a wrongful act, and done intentionally. If I am arraigned of felony, and wilfully stand mute, I am said to do it of malice, because it is intentional and without just cause or excuse. Russell on Crimes, 614, N. 1. And if I traduce a man, whether I know him or not, and whether I intend to do him an injury or not, I apprehend the law considers it as done of malice, because it is wrongful and intentional. It equally works an injury, whether I meant to produce an injury or not, and if I had no legal excuse for the slander, why is he not to have a remedy against me for the injury it produces? And I apprehend the law recognizes the distinction between these two descriptions of malice, malice in fact and malice in law, in actions of slander. In an ordinary action for words, it is sufficient to charge that the defendant spoke them falsely, it is not necessary to state that they were spoken maliciously. This is so laid down in Style, 392, and was adjudged upon error in Mercer _v._ Sparks, Owen, 51; Noy, 35. The objection there was, that the words were not charged to have been spoken maliciously, but the court answered, that the words were themselves malicious and slanderous, and, therefore, the judgment was affirmed. But in actions for such slander as is _prima facie_ excusable on account of the cause of speaking or writing it, as in the case of servant’s characters, confidential advice, or communications to persons who ask it, or have a right to expect it, malice in fact must be proved by the plaintiff, and in Edmonson _v._ Stevenson, 1 Term Rep. 110, Lord Mansfield takes the distinction between these and ordinary actions of slander. In Weatherstone _v._ Hawkins, Bull. N. P. 8, where a master who had given a servant a character, which prevented his being hired, gave his brother-in-law, who applied to him upon the subject, a detail by letter of certain instances in which the servant had defrauded him; Wood, who argued for the plaintiff, insisted that this case did not differ from the case of common libels, that it had the two essential ingredients, slander and falsehood; that it was not necessary to prove express malice; if the matter is slanderous, malice is implied, it is sufficient to prove publication; the motives of the party publishing are never gone into, and that the same doctrine held in actions for words, no express malice need be proved. Lord Mansfield said the general rules are laid down as Mr. Wood has stated, but to every libel there may be an implied justification from the occasion. So as to the words, instead of the plaintiff’s showing it to be false and malicious, it appears to be incidental to the application by the intended master for the character; and Buller, J., said, this is an exception to the general rule, on account of the occasion of writing. In actions of this kind, the plaintiff must prove the words “malicious” as well as false. Buller, J., repeats in Pasley _v._ Freeman, 3 T. R. 61, that for words spoken confidentially upon advice asked, no action lies, unless express malice can be proved. So in Hargrave _v._ Le Breton, 3 Burr. 2425, Lord Mansfield states that no action can be maintained against a master for the character he gives a servant, unless there are extraordinary circumstances of express malice. But in an ordinary action for a libel or for words, though evidence of malice may be given to increase the damages, it never is considered as essential, nor is there any instance of a verdict for a defendant on the ground of want of malice. Numberless occasions must have occurred (particularly in cases where a defendant only repeated what he had heard before, but without naming the author), upon which, if that were a tenable ground, verdicts would have been sought for and obtained, and the absence of any such instance is a proof of what has been the general and universal opinion upon the point. Had it been noticed to the jury how the defendant came to speak the words, and had it been left to them as a previous question, whether the defendant understood Watkins as asking for information for his own guidance, and that the defendant spoke what he did to Watkins, merely by way of honest advice to regulate his conduct, the question of malice in fact would have been proper as a second question to the jury, if their minds were in favor of the defendant upon the first; but as the previous question I have mentioned was never put to the jury, but this was treated as an ordinary case of slander, we are of opinion that the question of malice ought not to have been left to the jury. It was, however, pressed upon us with considerable force, that we ought not to grant a new trial, on the ground that the evidence did not support any of the counts in the declaration, but upon carefully attending to the declaration and the evidence, we think we are not warranted in saying that there was no evidence to go to the jury to support the declaration; and had the learned judge intimated an opinion that there was no such evidence, the plaintiff might have attempted to supply the defect. We, therefore, think that we cannot properly refuse a new trial, upon the ground that the result upon the trial might have been doubtful. In granting a new trial, however, the court does not mean to say that it may not be proper to put the question of malice as a question of fact for the consideration of the jury; for if the jury should think that when Watkins asked his question the defendant understood it as asked in order to obtain information to regulate his own conduct, it will range under the cases of privileged communication, and the question of malice, in fact, will then be a necessary part of the jury’s inquiry; but it does not appear that it was left to the jury in this case, to consider whether this was understood by the defendant as an application to him for advice, and if not, the question of malice was improperly left to their consideration. We are, therefore, of opinion, that the rule for a new trial must be absolute.

_Rule absolute._[425]

HANSON _v._ GLOBE NEWSPAPER COMPANY
SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT, MASSACHUSETTS, JUNE 20, 1893.
_Reported in 159 Massachusetts Reports, 293._

KNOWLTON, J.[426] The defendant published in its newspaper an article describing the conduct of a prisoner brought before the Municipal Court of Boston, and the proceedings of the court in the case, designating him as “H. P. Hanson, a real estate and insurance broker of South Boston.” He was, in fact, a real estate and insurance broker of South Boston, and the article was substantially true, except that he should have been called A. P. H. Hanson instead of H. P. Hanson. The plaintiff, H. P. Hanson, is also a real estate and insurance broker in South Boston, and in writing the article the reporter used his name by mistake.[427] The justice of the Superior Court, before whom the case was tried, without a jury, “found as a fact that the alleged libel declared on by the plaintiff was not published by the defendant of or concerning the plaintiff,” and the only question in the case is whether this finding was erroneous as matter of law.

In every action of this kind the fundamental question is, What is the meaning of the author of the alleged libel or slander, conveyed by the words used interpreted in the light of all the circumstances? The reason of this is obvious. Defamatory language is harmful only as it purports to be the expression of the thought of him who uses it. In determining the effect of a slander the questions involved are, What is the thought intended to be expressed, and how much credit should be given to him who expresses it? The essence of the wrong is the expression of what purports to be the knowledge or opinion of him who utters the defamatory words, or of some one else whose language he repeats. His meaning, to be ascertained in a proper way, is what gives character to his act, and makes it innocent or wrongful. The damages depend chiefly upon the weight which is to be given to his expression of his meaning, and all the questions relate back to the ascertainment of his meaning.

In the present case we are concerned only with the meaning of the defendant in regard to the person to whom the language of the published article was to be applied, and the question to be decided is, How may his meaning legitimately be ascertained? Obviously, in the first place, from the language used; and in construing and applying the language, the circumstances under which it was written and the facts to which it relates are to be considered, so far as they can readily be ascertained by those who read the words, and who attempt to find out the meaning of the author in regard to the person of whom they were written. It has often been said that the meaning of the language is not necessarily that which it may seem to have to those who read it as strangers, without knowledge of facts and circumstances which give it color and aid in its interpretation, but that which it has when read in the light of events which have relation to the utterance or publication of it.

For the purposes of this case it may be assumed, in favor of the plaintiff, that if the language used in a particular case, interpreted in the light of such events and circumstances attending the publication of it as could readily be ascertained by the public, is free from ambiguity in regard to the person referred to, and points clearly to a well known person, it would be held to have been published concerning that person, although the defendant should show that through some mistake of fact, not easily discoverable by the public, he had designated in his publication a person other than the one whom he intended to designate. It may well be held that where the language, read in connection with all the facts and circumstances which can be used in its interpretation, is free from ambiguity, the defendant will not be permitted to show that through ignorance or mistake he said something, either by way of designating the person, or making assertions about him, different from that which he intended to say; but his true meaning should be ascertained, if it can be, with the aid of such facts and circumstances attending the publication as may easily be known by those of the public who wish to discover it.

Whether the defendant should ever be permitted to state his undisclosed intention in regard to the person of whom the words are used, may be doubtful. If language purporting to be used of only one person would refer equally to either of two different persons of the same name, and if there were nothing to indicate that one was meant rather than the other, there is good reason for holding that the defendant’s testimony in regard to his secret intention might be received, but perhaps such a case is hardly supposable. Odgers, in his book on Libel and Slander, at page 129, says: “So, if the words spoken or written, though plain in themselves, apply equally well to more persons than one, evidence may be given both of the cause and occasion of publication, and of all the surrounding circumstances affecting the relation between the parties, and also any statement or declaration made by the defendant as to the person referred to.” In Regina _v._ Barnard, 43 J. P. 127, when it was uncertain whether the libel referred to the complainant or not, and when the language was applicable to him, Lord Chief Justice Cockburn held the affidavit of the writer that he did not mean him, but some one else, to be a sufficient reason for refusing process. In De Armond _v._ Armstrong, 37 Ind. 35, evidence was received of what the witnesses understood in regard to the person referred to. In Smart _v._ Blanchard, 42 N. H. 137, it is stated that extrinsic evidence is to be received “to show that the defendant intended to apply his remarks to the plaintiff,” when his meaning is doubtful. Goodrich _v._ Davis, 11 Met. 473, 480, 484, 485, and Miller _v._ Butler, 6 Cush. 71, are of similar purport. See also Barwell _v._ Adkins, 1 M. & G. 807; Knapp _v._ Fuller, 55 Vt. 311; Commonwealth _v._ Morgan, 107 Mass. 199, 201.

If the defendant’s article had contained anything libellous against A. P. H. Hanson, there can be no doubt that he could have maintained an action against the defendant for this publication. The name used is not conclusive in determining the meaning of the libel in respect to the person referred to; it is but one fact to be considered with other facts upon that subject. Fictitious names are often used in libels, and names similar to that of the person intended, but differing somewhat from it. A. P. H. Hanson could have shown that the description of him by name, residence, and occupation was perfect, except in the use of the initials “H. P.” instead of “A. P. H.,” that the article referred to an occasion on which he was present, and gave a description of conduct of a prisoner, and of proceedings in court, which was correct in its application to him and to no one else. The internal evidence when applied to facts well known to the public would have been ample to show that the language referred to him, and not to the person whose name was used.

So, in the present suit, the court had no occasion to rely on the testimony of the writer as to the person to whom the language was intended to apply. The language itself, in connection with the publicly known circumstances under which it was written, showed at once that the article referred to A. P. H. Hanson, and that the name H. P. Hanson was used by mistake. As the evidence showed that the words were published of and concerning A. P. H. Hanson, the finding that they were not published of the plaintiff followed of necessity. The article was of such a kind that it referred, and could refer, to one person only; when that person was ascertained, it might appear that the publication as against him was or was not libellous, and his rights, if he brought a suit, would depend upon the finding in respect to that. No one else would have a cause of action, even if, by reason of identity of name with that used in the publication, he might suffer some harm. For illustration, suppose a libel is written concerning a person described as John Smith of Springfield. Suppose there are five persons in Springfield of that name. The language refers to but one. When we ascertain by legitimate evidence to which one the words are intended to apply, he can maintain an action. The other persons of the same name cannot recover damages for a libel merely because of their misfortune in having a name like that of the person libelled. Or, if the defendant can justify by proving that the words were true, and published without malice, he is not guilty of a libel, even if, written of other persons of the same name of whose existence very likely he was ignorant, the words would be libellous; otherwise, one who has published that which by its terms can refer to but one person, and be a libel on him only, might be responsible for half a dozen libels on as many different persons, and one who has justifiably published the truth of a person might be liable to several persons of the same name of whom the language would be untrue. The law of libel has never been extended, and should not be extended, to include such cases.

Whether there should be a liability founded on negligence in any case when the truth is published of one to whom the words, interpreted in the light of accompanying circumstances easily ascertainable by those who read them, plainly apply; and where, by reason of identity of names, or similarity of names and description, a part of the public might think them applicable to another person of whom they would be libellous, is a question which does not arise on the pleadings in this case. So far as we are aware, no action for such a cause has ever been maintained. It is ordinarily to be presumed, although it may not always be the fact, that those who are enough interested in a person to be affected by what is said about him, will ascertain, if they easily can, whether libellous words which purport to refer to one of his name were intended to be applied to him or to some one else.

The question in this case, whether the words were published of and concerning the plaintiff, was one of fact on all the evidence. Unless it appears that the matters stated in the report would not warrant a finding for the defendant, there must be judgment for him, even if the finding of fact might have been the other way. We are of opinion that the finding was well warranted, and there must be,

_Judgment on the finding._

* * * * *

HOLMES, J. I am unable to agree with the decision of the majority of the court, and as the question is of some importance in its bearing on legal principles, and as I am not alone in my views, I think it proper to state the considerations which have occurred to me.

Those words [H. P. Hanson, a real estate and insurance broker of South Boston] describe the plaintiff, and no one else. The only ground, then, on which the matters alleged of and concerning that subject can be found not to be alleged of and concerning the plaintiff, is that the defendant did not intend them to apply to him, and the question is narrowed to whether such a want of intention is enough to warrant the finding, or to constitute a defence, when the inevitable consequence of the defendant’s acts is that the public, or that part of it which knows the plaintiff, will suppose that the defendant did use its language about him.

On general principles of tort, the private intent of the defendant would not exonerate it. It knew that it was publishing statements purporting to be serious, which would be hurtful to a man if applied to him. It knew that it was using as the subject of those statements words which purported to designate a particular man, and would be understood by its readers to designate one. In fact, the words purported to designate, and would be understood by its readers to designate, the plaintiff. If the defendant had supposed that there was no such person, and had intended simply to write an amusing fiction, that would not be a defence, at least unless its belief was justifiable. Without special reason, it would have no right to assume that there was no one within the sphere of its influence to whom the description answered. So, when the description which points out the plaintiff is supposed by the defendant to point out another man whom in fact it does not describe, the defendant is equally liable as when the description is supposed to point out nobody. On the general principles of tort, the publication is so manifestly detrimental that the defendant publishes it at the peril of being able to justify it in the sense in which the public will understand it.

A man may be liable civilly, and formerly, at least by the common law of England, even criminally, for publishing a libel without knowing it. Curtis _v._ Mussey, 6 Gray, 261; Commonwealth _v._ Morgan, 107 Mass. 199; Dunn _v._ Hall, 1 Ind. 344; Rex _v._ Walter, 3 Esp. 21; Rex _v._ Gutch, Mood. & Malk. 433. See also Rex _v._ Cuthell, 27 St. Tr. 642. And it seems he might be liable civilly for publishing it by mistake, intending to publish another paper. Mayne _v._ Fletcher, 4 Man. & Ry. 311, 312, note. Odgers, Libel and Slander, (2d ed.) 5. So, when by mistake the name of the plaintiff’s firm was inserted under the head “First Meetings under the Bankruptcy Act,” instead of under “Dissolution of Partnerships.” Shepheard _v._ Whitaker, L. R. 10 C. P. 502. So a man will be liable for a slander spoken in jest, if the by-standers reasonably understand it to be a serious charge. Donoghue _v._ Hayes, Hayes, 265. Of course it does not matter that the defendant did not intend to injure the plaintiff, if that was the manifest tendency of his words. Curtis _v._ Mussey, 6 Gray, 261, 273; Haire _v._ Wilson, 9 B. & C. 643. And to prove a publication concerning the plaintiff, it lies upon him “only to show that this construction, which they’ve put upon the paper, is such as the generality of readers must take it in, according to the obvious and natural sense of it.” The King _v._ Clerk, 1 Barnard. 304, 305. See further Fox _v._ Broderick, 14 Ir. C. L. 453; Odgers, Libel and Slander, (2d ed.) 155, 269, 435, 638. In Smith _v._ Ashley, 11 Met. 367, the jury were instructed that the publisher of a newspaper article written by another, and supposed and still asserted by the defendant to be a fiction, was not liable if he believed it to be so. Under the circumstances of the case, “believed” meant “reasonably believed.” Even so qualified, it is questioned by Mr. Odgers if the ruling would be followed in England. Odgers, Libel and Slander, (1st Am. ed.) 387, (2d ed.) 638. But it has no application to this case, as here the defendant’s agent wrote the article, and there is no evidence that he or the defendant had any reason to believe that H. P. Hanson meant any one but the plaintiff.

The foregoing decisions show that slander and libel now, as in the beginning, are governed by the general principles of the law of tort, and, if that be so, the defendant’s ignorance that the words which it published identified the plaintiff is no more an excuse, than ignorance of any other fact about which the defendant has been put on inquiry. To hold that a man publishes such words at his peril, when they are supposed to describe a different man, is hardly a severer application of the law, than when they are uttered about a man believed on the strongest grounds to be dead, and thus not capable of being the subject of a tort. It has been seen that by the common law of England such a belief would not be an excuse. Hearne _v._ Stowell, 12 A. & E. 719, 726, denying Parson Prick’s case.

I feel some difficulty in putting my finger on the precise point of difference between the minority and majority of the court. I understand, however, that a somewhat unwilling assent is yielded to the general views which I have endeavored to justify, and I should gather that the exact issue was to be found in the statement that the article was one describing the conduct of a prisoner brought before the Municipal Court of Boston, coupled with the later statement that the language, taken in connection with the publicly known circumstances under which it was written, showed at once that the article referred to A. P. H. Hanson, and that the name of H. P. Hanson was used by mistake. I have shown why it seems to me that these statements are misleading. I only will add on this point, that I do not know what the publicly known circumstances are. I think it is a mistake of fact to suppose that the public generally know who was before the Municipal Criminal Court on a given day. I think it is a mistake of law to say that, because a small part of the public have that knowledge, the plaintiff cannot recover for the harm done him in the eyes of the greater part of the public, probably including all his acquaintances who are ignorant about the matter, and I also think it no sufficient answer to say that they might consult the criminal records, and find out that probably there was some error. Blake _v._ Stevens, 4 F. & F. 232, 240. If the case should proceed further on the facts, it might appear that, in view of the plaintiff’s character and circumstances, all who knew him would assume that there was a mistake, that the harm to him was merely nominal, and that he had been too hasty in resorting to an action to vindicate himself. But that question is not before us.

With reference to the suggestion that, if the article, in addition to what was true concerning A. P. H. Hanson, had contained matter which was false and libellous as to him, he might have maintained an action, it is unnecessary to express an opinion. I think the proposition less obvious than that the plaintiff can maintain one. If an article should describe the subject of its statements by two sets of marks, one of which identified one man and one of which identified another, and a part of the public naturally and reasonably were led by the one set to apply the statements to one plaintiff, and another part were led in the same way by the other set to apply them to another, I see no absurdity in allowing two actions to be maintained. But that is not this case.

Even if the plaintiff and A. P. H. Hanson had borne the same name, and the article identified its subject only by a proper name, very possibly that would not be enough to raise the question. For, as every one knows, a proper name always purports to designate one person and no other, and although, through the imperfection of our system of naming, the same combination of letters and sounds may be applied to two or more, the name of each, in theory of law, is distinct, although there is no way of finding out which person was named but by inquiring which was meant. “_Licet idem sit nomen, tamen diversum est propter diversitatem personæ._” Bract. fol. 190 a. Commonwealth _v._ Bacon, 135 Mass. 521, 525. Cocker _v._ Crompton, 1 B. & C. 489. In re Cooper, 20 Ch. D. 611. Mead _v._ Phenix Ins. Co., 158 Mass. 124, 125. Kyle _v._ Kavanagh, 103 Mass. 356. Raffles _v._ Wichelhaus, 2 H. & C. 906.

Mr. Justice Morton and Mr. Justice Barker agree with this opinion.[428]

PECK _v._ TRIBUNE COMPANY
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES, MAY 17, 1909.
_Reported in 214 United States Reports, 185._

MR. JUSTICE HOLMES delivered the opinion of the court.

This is an action on the case for a libel. The libel alleged is found in an advertisement printed in the defendant’s newspaper, _The Chicago Sunday Tribune_, and so far as is material is as follows: “Nurse and Patients Praise Duffy’s—Mrs. A. Schuman, One of Chicago’s Most Capable and Experienced Nurses, Pays an Eloquent Tribute to the Great Invigorating, Life-Giving and Curative Properties of Duffy’s Pure Malt Whiskey....” Then followed a portrait of the plaintiff, with the words “Mrs. A. Schuman” under it. Then, in quotation marks, “After years of constant use of your Pure Malt Whiskey, both by myself and as given to patients in my capacity as nurse, I have no hesitation in recommending it as the very best tonic and stimulant for all weak and rundown conditions,” &c., &c., with the words “Mrs. A. Schuman, 1576 Mozart St., Chicago, Ill.,” at the end, not in quotation marks, but conveying the notion of a signature, or at least that the words were hers. The declaration alleged that the plaintiff was not Mrs. Schuman, was not a nurse, and was a total abstainer from whiskey and all spirituous liquors. There was also a count for publishing the plaintiff’s likeness without leave. The defendant pleaded not guilty. At the trial, subject to exceptions, the judge excluded the plaintiff’s testimony in support of her allegations just stated, and directed a verdict for the defendant. His action was sustained by the Circuit Court of Appeals, 154 Fed. Rep. 330; S. C., 83 C. C. A. 202.

Of course the insertion of the plaintiff’s picture in the place and with the concomitants that we have described imported that she was the nurse and made the statements set forth, as rightly was decided in Wandt _v._ Hearst’s Chicago American, 129 Wisconsin, 419, 421. Morrison _v._ Smith, 177 N. Y. 366. Therefore the publication was of and concerning the plaintiff, notwithstanding the presence of another fact, the name of the real signer of the certificate, if that was Mrs. Schuman, that was inconsistent, when all the facts were known, with the plaintiff’s having signed or adopted it. Many might recognize the plaintiff’s face without knowing her name, and those who did know it might be led to infer that she had sanctioned the publication under an alias. There was some suggestion that the defendant published the portrait by mistake, and without knowledge that it was the plaintiff’s portrait or was not what it purported to be. But the fact, if it was one, was no excuse. If the publication was libellous the defendant took the risk. As was said of such matters by Lord Mansfield, “Whatever a man publishes he publishes at his peril.” The King _v._ Woodfall, Lofft, 776, 781. See further Hearne _v._ Stowell, 12 A. & E. 719, 726; Shepheard _v._ Whitaker, L. R. 10 C. P. 502; Clark _v._ North American Co., 203 Pa. St. 346, 351, 352. The reason is plain. A libel is harmful on its face. If a man sees fit to publish manifestly hurtful statements concerning an individual, without other justification than exists for an advertisement or a piece of news, the usual principles of tort will make him liable, if the statements are false or are true only of some one else. See Morasse _v._ Brochu, 151 Massachusetts, 567, 575.

The question, then, is whether the publication was a libel. It was held by the Circuit Court of Appeals not to be, or at most to entitle the plaintiff only to nominal damages, no special damage being alleged. It was pointed out that there was no general consensus of opinion that to drink whiskey is wrong or that to be a nurse is discreditable. It might have been added that very possibly giving a certificate and the use of one’s portrait in aid of an advertisement would be regarded with irony, or a stronger feeling, only by a few. But it appears to us that such inquiries are beside the point. It may be that the action for libel is of little use, but while it is maintained it should be governed by the general principles of tort. If the advertisement obviously would hurt the plaintiff in the estimation of an important and respectable part of the community, liability is not a question of a majority vote.

We know of no decision in which this matter is discussed upon principle. But obviously an unprivileged falsehood need not entail universal hatred to constitute a cause of action. No falsehood is thought about or even known by all the world. No conduct is hated by all. That it will be known by a large number and will lead an appreciable fraction of that number to regard the plaintiff with contempt is enough to do her practical harm. Thus if a doctor were represented as advertising, the fact that it would affect his standing with others of his profession might make the representation actionable, although advertising is not reputed dishonest and even seems to be regarded by many with pride. See Martin _v._ The Picayune, 115 Louisiana, 979. It seems to us impossible to say that the obvious tendency of what is imputed to the plaintiff by this advertisement is not seriously to hurt her standing with a considerable and respectable class in the community. Therefore it was the plaintiff’s right to prove her case and go to the jury, and the defendant would have got all that it could ask if [it] had been permitted to persuade them, if it could, to take a contrary view. Culmer _v._ Canby, 101 Fed. Rep. 195, 197; Twombly _v._ Monroe, 136 Massachusetts, 464, 469. See Gates _v._ New York Recorder Co., 155 N. Y. 228.

It is unnecessary to consider the question whether the publication of the plaintiff’s likeness was a tort _per se_. It is enough for the present case that the law should at least be prompt to recognize the injuries that may arise from an unauthorized use in connection with other facts, even if more subtilty is needed to state the wrong than is needed here. In this instance we feel no doubt.

_Judgment reversed._[429]

E. HULTON AND COMPANY _v._ JONES
IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS, DECEMBER 6, 1909.
_Reported in [1909] Appeal Cases, 20._

The following statement is taken from the opinion of Lord Alverstone, C. J., in the Court of Appeal.[430]

“The action was brought by the plaintiff, a member of the Bar, in respect of a libel published in the _Sunday Chronicle_ on July 12, 1908 (the passages complained of are set out in the statement of claim), which appeared in an article in the defendants’ paper purporting to describe what the Paris correspondent of the paper had witnessed at Dieppe, and the particular passage on which the question really turns was in these words: ‘“Whist! there is Artemus Jones with a woman who is not his wife, who must be, you know—the other thing!” whispers a fair neighbor of mine excitedly into her bosom friend’s ear. Really, is it not surprising how certain of our fellow-countrymen behave when they come abroad?’ It was alleged by the plaintiff that this passage was a libel upon him.

“The material facts which were proved in evidence at the trial were as follows. The plaintiff, whose real name is Thomas Jones, is thirty-seven years old, and since the year 1901 has been a member of the Bar, practising on the North Wales Circuit. His baptismal name was Thomas Jones, but ever since he was at school he has been known by the name of Artemus Jones or Thomas Artemus Jones. He was confirmed in the latter name in the year 1886, and it appears to have been given him by his father in order to distinguish him from other persons of the name of Jones. The defendants alleged that the name was used as a fictitious name adopted by the writer of the article without any knowledge of the existence of the plaintiff or of any person named Artemus Jones; and both the writer and the editor, who were called as witnesses by the defendants under circumstances to which I shall have to refer, stated that they had no knowledge whatever of the plaintiff, and had no intention to refer to him, and that so far as they were concerned the name was entirely an imaginary name. The counsel for the plaintiff accepted the explanation given by the writer, Mr. Dawbarn, and the editor, Mr. Woodbridge, and expressly stated that he did not, after their evidence, allege that they or either of them were in fact actuated by malice, or intended to refer to the plaintiff in their article. Some question was raised both at the trial and on the appeal before us as to the possibility of there being other individuals in the employment of the defendant company who were actuated by express malice towards the plaintiff, but for the purpose of my judgment I assume that there was no proof of malice in fact on the part of any agent or servant of the defendants. The plaintiff called five witnesses who stated that upon reading the article they thought that it referred to the plaintiff, and the plaintiff was prepared to call further witnesses to give evidence to the same effect, but, at the suggestion of the learned judge, he abstained from calling them....

“At the conclusion of the plaintiff’s case, Mr. Langdon, who was then the leading counsel for the defendants, submitted that, as the name Artemus Jones was a fictitious name, coined by the writer of the article, and not intended to refer to any particular individual at all, it was not a libel on anybody, and _a fortiori_ not on the plaintiff himself. In support of this contention the case of Harrison _v._ Smith, 20 L. T. (N. S.) 713, was at that stage of the proceedings cited to the learned judge. He ruled that, if a person chooses to publish a thing of this description, the question is not whether the man really intended it, but whether it would be understood by readers to apply to a particular person, adding that, if sensible readers would see at once that it was only an imaginary thing, if any one reading it would see that it did not refer to a gentleman who happened to bear the name of Artemus Jones, it would not be a libel, but if he would think the contrary, that it did not refer to an imaginary person, but to a real individual, the action might be maintained.”

It also appeared that up to the year 1901 plaintiff had contributed signed articles to defendants’ newspaper.

At the trial before Channell, J., the plaintiff had a verdict for £1750, upon which judgment was rendered. Defendants appealed.

The Court of Appeal (Lord Alverstone, C. J., and Farwell, L. J.,—Fletcher Moulton, L. J., dissenting) dismissed the appeal. Jones _v._ E. Hulton & Co., [1909] 2 K. B. 444.

Defendants then appealed to the House of Lords.

LORD LOREBURN, L. C. My Lords, I think this appeal must be dismissed. A question in regard to the law of libel has been raised which does not seem to me to be entitled to the support of your Lordships. Libel is a tortious act. What does the tort consist in? It consists in using language which others knowing the circumstances would reasonably think to be defamatory of the person complaining of and injured by it. A person charged with libel cannot defend himself by showing that he intended in his own breast not to defame, or that he intended not to defame the plaintiff, if in fact he did both. He has none the less imputed something disgraceful and has none the less injured the plaintiff. A man in good faith may publish a libel believing it to be true, and it may be found by the jury that he acted in good faith believing it to be true, and reasonably believing it to be true, but that in fact the statement was false. Under those circumstances he has no defence to the action, however excellent his intention. If the intention of the writer be immaterial in considering whether the matter written is defamatory, I do not see why it need be relevant in considering whether it is defamatory of the plaintiff. The writing, according to the old form, must be malicious, and it must be of and concerning the plaintiff. Just as the defendant could not excuse himself from malice by proving that he wrote it in the most benevolent spirit, so he cannot show that the libel was not of and concerning the plaintiff by proving that he never heard of the plaintiff. His intention in both respects equally is inferred from what he did. His remedy is to abstain from defamatory words.

It is suggested that there was a misdirection by the learned judge in this case. I see none. He lays down in his summing up the law as follows: “The real point upon which your verdict must turn is, ought or ought not sensible and reasonable people reading this article to think that it was a mere imaginary person such as I have said—Tom Jones, Mr. Pecksniff as a humbug, Mr. Stiggins, or any of that sort of names that one reads of in literature used as types? If you think any reasonable person would think that, it is not actionable at all. If, on the other hand, you do not think that, but think that people would suppose it to mean some real person—those who did not know the plaintiff of course would not know who the real person was, but those who did know of the existence of the plaintiff would think that it was the plaintiff—then the action is maintainable, subject to such damages as you think under all the circumstances are fair and right to give to the plaintiff.”