Constitution Pub. Co. v. Andrews

• Decision Date: 12 November 1934
• Docket Number: 24015.
• Parties: CONSTITUTION PUB. CO. v. ANDREWS.
• Court: Georgia Court of Appeals

177 S.E. 258

50 Ga.App. 116

CONSTITUTION PUB. CO. v. ANDREWS.

No. 24015.

Court of Appeals of Georgia, First Division

November 12, 1934

Syllabus by the Court.

The newspaper article in the present case, when construed in its entirety, cannot be said to be in any manner libelous, and the judge erred in overruling the general demurrer to the petition.

Error from Superior Court, Fulton County; Edgar E. Pomeroy, Judge.

Petition by Mrs. J. E. Andrews against the Atlanta Constitution Publishing Company. To review a judgment overruling a general demurrer to the petition, defendant brings error.

Reversed.

Heyman Bolding & Heyman, of Atlanta, for plaintiff in error.

Wm. G McRae and A. E. Wilson, both of Atlanta, for defendant in error.

GUERRY Judge.

Mrs. J E. Andrews sued the Atlanta Constitution Publishing Company alleging the publication of a libel against her. The case is before this court on exceptions to the order overruling the general demurrer to the petition. The petition alleged: That during the month of November, 1929, the Fulton county grand jury instituted a diligent investigation into the municipal affairs of the city of Atlanta, the investigations culminating in the indictment of numerous officials of the city of Atlanta alleged to be guilty of bribery; that on March 1, 1930, numerous true bills were returned against various city officials; that the defendant, through its daily paper, the Atlanta Constitution, devoted much space to a report of the proceedings of the investigations; and that on March 2, 1930, on its front page were exhibited photographs of such city officials as had been indicted. By amendment a photostat copy of said page was attached to the petition together with pictures of the plaintiff and one other woman. At the top of these pictures, in large type and what are commonly known as headlines, was the following: "City officials indicted by the Grand Jury Saturday." Under each individual picture was the name of the person exhibited and the position occupied. Under the plaintiff's picture was "Mrs. J. E. Andrews, Civic Worker." Under the photographs as a whole was the following: "Photographs of City officials and others indicted in the investigation by the Fulton County Grand Jury of alleged graft and corruption in the Atlanta City Administration." Then followed a descriptive article in which was given a list of the indictments, the charge lodged against each person so indicted concluding with the following: "Mrs. J. E. Andrews and Mrs. J. R. Wakefield indicted jointly for misdemeanor in connection with alleged libelous publication concerning John A. Boykin, Solicitor General." Further in the article the following occurred: "The two women, the former a social worker and the latter editor of the Woman's World, a weekly newspaper, were indicted following investigation by the grand jury of an article which appeared under Mrs. Andrews' name in the paper edited by Mrs. Wakefield recently. The article attacked Solicitor-General Boykin and demanded that he be removed from office during the graft investigation and that the grand jury later conduct an investigation of Mr. Boykin's conduct in the solicitor general's office." Plaintiff admits that she was indicted by the special grand jury investigating the affairs of the municipal government of the city of Atlanta for libel, but contends that the placing of her picture over the explanatory remarks above quoted tended to and did publish to the world that she had been indicted as one connected with the administration of the affairs of the city of Atlanta for a crime involving moral turpitude. We are unable to agree with the ruling of the trial court.

"A publication claimed...