Berkson v. Time, Inc.
| Decision Date | 24 March 1960 |
| Citation | 7 N.Y.2d 1007,166 N.E.2d 847,200 N.Y.S.2d 51 |
| Parties | , 166 N.E.2d 847 Eleanor L. BERKSON, as Executrix of Seymour Berkson, et al., Appellants, v. TIME, INCORPORATED, et al., Respondents. |
| Court | New York Court of Appeals Court of Appeals |
Appeal from Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department, 8 A.D.2d 352, 187 N.Y.S.2d 849.
The publisher and corporate owner of newspaper brought action against corporate owner and editor of news magazine to recover damages for alleged libel.
The Supreme Court, Special Term, New York County, Vincent A. Lupiano, J., 10 Misc.2d 189, 171 N.Y.S.2d 967, rendered an order on February 25, 1958 denying motion of corporate owner and editor of magazine to dismiss the complaint for insufficiency, and they appealed.
The Appellate Division, Bergan, J., 8 A.D.2d 352, 187 N.Y.S.2d 849, reversed the order, dismissed the complaint, and held that magazine article, which asserted that newspaper withheld letter that it had received from 'mad bomber' who was planting home-made bombs around city, and described newspaper's effort to utilize information, coming gratuitously to newspaper, to outrun police in leading to detection of the 'mad bomber', could not fairly be read as charging a crime or as making a disgraceful charge, and, therefore article was not libelous per se. Frank, J., dissented.
Executor of deceased publisher and corporate owner of newspaper appealed to the Court of Appeals, contending that first cause of action on behalf of newspaper publisher was sufficient in law, and that second cause of action on behalf of corporate owner was sufficient in law, and that contention that publication was not defamatory was untenable as a proposition of law justiciable by the court.
McCauley, Henry & Brennan, New York City (Charles Henry, New York City, of counsel), for plaintiffs-appellants.
Judgment affirmed, with costs.
All concur.
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