Blinick v. Long Island Daily Press. Pub. Co.
| Decision Date | 23 June 1971 |
| Citation | 323 N.Y.S.2d 853,67 Misc.2d 254 |
| Parties | David S. BLINICK and Augusta Blinick, Plaintiffs, v. LONG ISLAND DAILY PRESS PUBLISHING CO., Inc. et al., Defendants. |
| Court | New York City Court |
Spivak & Kantor, New York City, (Irving D. Rosenman, New York City, of counsel), for plaintiffs.
Denis E. Carroll, New York City, for defendant, Long Island Daily Press.
On May 22 and May 23, 1970 an advertisement appeared in the Long Island Daily Press inviting single adults to meet new people 'preselected to please you' by calling a given telephone number 'for interesting recorded message.'
On July 3, 1970 a similar advertisement appeared in the New York Daily column.
All three advertisements were placed in the respective newspapers through Defendant, Compatibility Research. In each instance apparently by error the telephone number given was that of plaintiffs residing in Hellerose, Long Island and totally innocent of any participation in the venture.
Not unexpectedly plaintiffs were deluged with telephone calls, many of them obscene. At first the calls came in a steady stream day and night continuing, although in decreasing numbers of course, for several weeks after each advertisement. They caused plaintiffs to suffer humiliation, anguish, irritation, not to mention several sleepless nights at the inception of the advertisements. Mrs. Blinick had been suffering from high blood pressure prior to the advertisements and testified to aggravation thereof. There was, however, no testimony that she was caused to consult with her doctor or to take any medication except that on the first day the took a pill which had been prescribed for her for moments of stress and which she had in her possession.
Defendant Compatibility Research, failed to answer after having been served through the Secretary of State. Defendant, New York Daily Column settled and the cause of action against it was discontinued reserving rights against the remaining defendants. Defendant, Long Island Daily Press failed to appear on several occasions on which the matter was set down for trial and finally an inquest was ordered. On the date of the inquest counsel for Long Island Daily Press was present, and, in the interest of reaching truth, I allowed him to participate to the extent of cross-examining the plaintiffs.
The liability of Defendant, Compatibility Research, is established by the error in the text of the advertisements...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Daniel v. Dow Jones & Co., Inc.
...Dev. Corp. v. Merck & Co., supra; Yuhas v. Mudge, supra ). The only New York case to the contrary, Blinick v. Long Is. Daily Press Publ. Co., 67 Misc.2d 254, 323 N.Y.S.2d 853 [Civ.Ct.1971], does not correctly follow the cases finding liability for negligent misstatements, incorrectly evalua......
-
Pittman v. Dow Jones & Co., Inc.
...amount for an indeterminate time to an indeterminate class.' Plaintiffs rely on Blinick v. Long Island Daily Press Publishing Co., Inc., 67 Misc.2d 254, 323 N.Y.S.2d 853 (Civ.Ct.1971), but Blinick is of little precedential value. In that New York Civil Court case, plaintiff sued a newspaper......
-
Greco v. Journal News, 2004 NY Slip Op 50704(U) (NY 6/24/2004)
...Ct. N.Y. Co. 1987]; Suarez v. Underwood, 103 Misc.2d 445 [Sup. Ct. Queens Co. 1980]; but see Blinick v. Long Island Daily Press Publishing Co., Inc., 67 Misc.2d 254 [Civ. Ct. N.Y. Co. 1971]). Further, that a news service's dissemination of advertisements of mass communication does not estab......
- Blair v. Union Free School Dist. No. 6, Hauppauge, Suffolk County