Boling v. Clinton Cotton Mills

• Decision Date: 09 November 1931
• Docket Number: 13268.
• Parties: BOLING v. CLINTON COTTON MILLS et al.
• Court: South Carolina Supreme Court

161 S.E. 195

163 S.C. 13

BOLING v. CLINTON COTTON MILLS et al.

No. 13268.

Supreme Court of South Carolina

November 9, 1931

Appeal from Common Pleas Circuit Court of Laurens County; T. J Mauldin, Judge.

Action by A. J. Boling against the Clinton Cotton Mills and another. From an order refusing a motion for an order requiring plaintiff to make complaint more definite and certain and from an order overruling demurrers to the several causes of action, defendants appeal.

Modified and remanded.

The complaint directed to be reported was as follows:

The complaint of the above-named plaintiff shows unto the court:

For a First Cause of Action.

(1) That the above-named plaintiff is and was at the times hereinafter mentioned a resident of the county of Laurens state of South Carolina, living in the city of Clinton, where he is and was at time hereinafter mentioned engaged in the profession as a minister of the gospel under the jurisdiction of the Upper South Carolina Methodist Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, having in charge the Bailey Memorial Church, a charge that he has held for the past four years. That on all occasions as such pastor he has denounced publicly from his pulpit all forms of sin and evil. That nearly all of the members of the said church of which he is pastor are employees of the said Clinton Cotton Mill, and he, the said plaintiff, and family, consisting of a wife and five children, live in a home belonging to and controlled by the said Clinton Cotton Mill.

(2) That the defendant Clinton Cotton Mill is a corporation, chartered under the laws of the state of South Carolina, having its principal place of business at Clinton, S. C., and is engaged inter alia in the manufacture of cotton goods and allied products. That the defendant F. W. Gurry is and was at times hereinafter stated a resident of the county of Laurens, state of South Carolina, and employed as superintendent of the said Clinton Cotton Mill, whose duties inter alia are and were to look after the health, social, athletic, financial, religious, and housing conditions of the said Clinton Cotton Mill and its community, and to exercise a general watch, care and control over the said Clinton Cotton Mill, its agents, employees, servants and all matters that relate to the general welfare of the said mill, with full power and authority to hire, employ, discharge, and remove from the said mill community any or all of its employees or servants.

(3) That some time prior to July 14, 1930, the plaintiff, as minister of the Bailey Memorial Church, had publicly denounced some seemingly evil recreations as being indulged in by the young people of the Clinton Cotton Mill Community, which recreations were being sponsored by the Clinton Cotton Mill through its superintendent, F. W. Gurry.

(4) That immediately after the said denunciatory and impersonal sermon against the evil tendencies referred to above, and on or about the 14th day of July, 1930, the said defendant F. W. Gurry, while acting as agent and servant of the said Clinton Cotton Mill, and while in the actual discharge of his duty, dispatched one of the servants of the said Clinton Cotton Mill to the home of the said plaintiff, whom he knew to be a minister of the gospel, summoning the said plaintiff to immediately appear at the head office of the said Clinton Cotton Mill where the said defendant F. W. Gurry kept and maintained his office as said superintendent of the said Clinton Cotton Mill. That upon entering the said office the said defendant F. W. Gurry, the superintendent of the said defendant mill, informed the plaintiff that he in his line of duty had investigated the plaintiff about his actions, and then with malicious intent to injure the said plaintiff in his character and reputation, and for other reasons, did then and there speak and publish certain slanderous statements to, of, and concerning the said plaintiff, to wit: "That he the said plaintiff had been posing as a single man, and had been going to Greenwood, S. C., and had been having illicit relations with two women, Jessie Bailey and Rosa May Harris, and that the Clinton Cotton Mill would have them to come to Clinton and make an affidavit that the same was true." That the Clinton Cotton Mill, through its superintendent, F. W. Gurry, did bring the two women to the Clinton Cotton Mill office at Clinton, S. C., and in the presence of several officials of the said mill did cause them to sign an affidavit that the above charges were true. That the said defendants by said language and conduct meant to charge, and did charge, the plaintiff A. J. Boling with the crime of adultery; and meant to charge, and did charge, or the words used were intended to charge, conduct of plaintiff inconsistent with good character and which conduct would make him unfit for his profession as minister; and the said language and conduct was so understood by those who heard it; and said charge was false, malicious, and slanderous.

(5) That the aforesaid slanderous words were spoken to, of, and concerning, the plaintiff, and were published to divers people, and were so spoken in a willful, wanton, reckless way, and with a malicious intent to injure the said plaintiff in his character, reputation, and to hold the plaintiff up to public ridicule, and hurt his standing in the Methodist Conference and the community in which he lives, and to crush him as a leader amongst his church people and members, the defendants well knowing that he was a minister of the gospel. And that, as a result of the slanderous words which were spoken and published, the said plaintiff has been injured in his reputation and character, his standing in the Methodist Conference and the community in which he lives, and has suffered great mental anguish and physical sickness.

(6) That, as a result of the said slanderous words which were published with a malicious intent to injure the said plaintiff, the plaintiff has been damaged in the sum of $25,000, actual and punitive.

For a Second Cause of Action.

(1) The plaintiff herein repeats paragraphs 1, 2, and 3 of the first cause of action as though same were fully set out in detail in this second cause of action.

(2) That on or about the 14th day of July, 1930, the defendant F. W. Gurry, while acting as agent and servant of the said Clinton Cotton Mill, received the said plaintiff and his board of stewards in his office at the said Clinton Cotton Mill, and, upon being interviewed by the entire committee as to whether or not he the said superintendent had stated and published that "he (the plaintiff) had been posing as a single man and had been having illicit relations with two women in or about Greenwood, S. C.," answered, ""Right, right." That then and there the said defendant F. W. Gurry, with malicious intent to injure the said plaintiff, did voluntarily charge the plaintiff with having gone to Greenwood and having had illicit relations with two crooked women "for a period of more than a year," or words to that effect. That the said defendants by said language and conduct meant to charge, and did charge, the plaintiff, A. J. Boling with the crime of adultery; and meant to charge, and did charge, or the words used were intended to charge, conduct of plaintiff inconsistent with good character, and which conduct would make him unfit for his profession as minister; and the said language and conduct was so understood by those who heard it; and said charge was false, malicious, and slanderous.

(3) That the aforesaid slanderous words were spoken to, of, and concerning the plaintiff, and were published to divers and sundry people, and were so spoken in a willful, wanton, reckless way, and with a malicious intent to injure the said plaintiff in his character, reputation, and to hold the plaintiff up to public ridicule, and to hurt his standing in the Methodist Conference and the community in which he lives, and to crush him as a leader amongst his church people and members. And that, as a result of the slanderous words which were spoken and published, the said plaintiff has been injured in his reputation and character, his standing in the Methodist Conference and the community in which he lives, and has suffered great mental anguish and physical sickness.

(4) That, as a result of the said slanderous words which were published with a malicious intent, the plaintiff has been damaged in the sum of $25,000 actual and punitive.

For a Third Cause of Action.

(1) The plaintiff herein repeats paragraphs 1, 2, and 3 of the first cause of action as though same were fully set out in detail in this the third cause of action.

(2) That on or about the 28th day of July, 1930, the said F. W. Gurry, while acting as agent and servant of the defendant Clinton Cotton Mills, and while in his line of duty, met divers and sundry people on the streets of the Clinton Cotton Mill community, and did then and there utter and publish of and concerning the plaintiff as a minister of the gospel and concerning his official work as a preacher certain defamatory statements with malicious intent to injure the said plaintiff, to wit: "That man would not keep his word for twenty four hours," and stated to one S.W. Hudson, "If you knew what I know on the preacher you would not be sticking by him." That said words were spoken of the plaintiff, A. J. Boling, in his capacity of office of a minister; and defendants by said language and conduct did charge, and meant to charge, that plaintiff was unfit to occupy the position of pastor and preacher, and the language and conduct was so understood by those who heard it, and the said charge was false and malicious.

(3) That the aforesaid slanderous words were spoken of and concerning the plaintiff, and were...