Covey v. Fields, 17106
| Citation | 354 S.E.2d 413,177 W.Va. 481 |
| Decision Date | 25 February 1987 |
| Docket Number | No. 17106,17106 |
| Parties | Edgile COVEY v. Delmar FIELDS. |
| Court | Supreme Court of West Virginia |
Syllabus by the Court
1. "All words which, from their usual construction and common acceptation, are construed as insults and tend to violence and breach of the peace, shall be actionable." W.Va.Code 55-7-2 [1923], in part.
2. No proof of special damages is necessary to sustain an action under our insulting words statute, W.Va.Code 55-7-2 [1923].
3. "Upon motion for a directed verdict, all reasonable doubts and inferences should be resolved in favor of the party against whom the verdict is asked to be directed." Syl. Pt. 5, Wager v. Sine, 157 W.Va. 391, 201 S.E.2d 260 (1973).
J. Fred Queen, Elkins, for appellant.
Robert G. Durnal, Junior, for appellee.
The appellant, Mr. Edgile Covey, resides on Faulkner Road in Randolph County. The appellee, Mr. Delmar Fields, lives directly across Faulkner Road from Mr. Covey. On the evening of 16 July 1983, Mr. Fields hosted a party at his house. Mr. Fields and his merry band that evening performed devout ministrations to Dionysus, and eventually these bacchanalia began to exceed the bounds of good taste.
By and by the conversation turned to the subject of Mr. Covey, whom the company appears to have held in low esteem. An extraordinary degree of anti-Covey sentiment was whipped up, which precipitated the hurling of rocks and eggs at Mr. Covey's home and epithets at his character. Mr. Theodore Ogden, feeling the spirit of the assembly, positioned his jeep on Mr Field's lawn such that he could shine his vehicle's lights directly into the front windows of Mr. Covey's house. In response, Mr. Covey fired his shotgun across the road and into Mr. Ogden's jeep in such a manner as to extinguish its lights. Although no one was injured, Mr. Covey's act did constitute a violation of W.Va.Code, 20-2-58 [1969].
Shortly after Mr. Covey had discharged his firearm, the police arrived. Mr. Ogden swore out warrants against Mr. Covey for shooting across a public roadway and for destruction of property. Mr. Covey was arrested and was released after posting bond. Mr. Ogden later voluntarily dismissed the charges against Mr. Covey.
Mr. Covey subsequently brought this civil action against Mr. Fields for false arrest and wrongful prosecution. At the conclusion of the plaintiff's case, the defendant moved for a directed verdict. The trial court concluded that: Mr. Covey had in fact fired his shotgun across Faulkner Road in violation of W.Va.Code 20-2-58 [1969]; the actions of Mr. Fields did not constitute a justification for Mr. Covey's violation of the statute; Mr. Ogden, and not Mr. Fields, had sworn out the warrants against Mr. Covey; and Mr. Covey had failed to show that Mr. Fields had in any way induced Mr. Ogden to swear out the warrants. Accordingly, the trial judge granted the defendant's motion for a directed verdict.
Upon reviewing the record and the applicable law, we concur in the trial court's judgment that Mr. Covey failed to make out a prima facie case of false arrest or wrongful prosecution against Mr. Fields. Accordingly, we affirm the circuit court's judgment in that regard.
However, due largely to infelicitous presentation by counsel for Mr. Covey, the trial court appears to have overlooked a more viable claim contained in Mr. Covey's complaint. Mr. Covey alleged in his complaint that Mr. Fields had "accosted, assaulted, threatened and insulted" Mr. Covey, thereby causing him "great emotional and physical stress, public humiliation and embarrassment." The complaint further alleged that Mr. Fields "liabled [sic]" Mr. Covey. Moreover, in his responses to Mr. Fields' first set of interrogatories, Mr. Covey maintained that Mr. Fields "used profanity and insulting...
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