Ross v. Columbia Newspapers, Inc., 20154
| Decision Date | 22 January 1976 |
| Docket Number | No. 20154,20154 |
| Citation | 266 S.C. 75,221 S.E.2d 770 |
| Parties | Larry M. ROSS, Appellant, v. COLUMBIA NEWSPAPERS, INC., Respondent. |
| Court | South Carolina Supreme Court |
S. Tucker McCravey, Columbia, for appellant.
Robinson, McFadden, Moore & Pope, Columbia, for respondent.
Plaintiff brought this action for libel against defendant Columbia Newspapers, alleging that two articles appearing in defendant's newspaper falsely imputed the commission of a crime to him. At the conclusion of all the evidence, the trial judge directed a verdict for defendant. Plaintiff has appealed. We affirm the lower court.
Plaintiff alleged that the two articles published by defendant on September 20 and 21, 1971, were libelous per se, in that they falsely stated that he was being held by police, had been charged with assault and battery with intent to kill, was arrested on the scene, and that he was questioned in connection with his wife's death. Plaintiff further alleged that defendant, by exercising reasonable care, could have determined that these facts were untrue.
Defendant asserted the defenses of truth and qualified privilege.
The evidence disclosed that plaintiff shot his wife in the chest with a pistol early in the morning of September 19, 1971. He called the police and requested an ambulance. A patrolman arrived, followed by the ambulance personnel. The patrolman testified that he had to talk plaintiff into giving up the pistol, although plaintiff stated that the patrolman took the pistol from a desk. The patrolman also testified, as did a detective who arrived shortly after him, that plaintiff was definitely arrested and that he was charged with assault and battery with intent to kill. Specifically, the detective testified that he sent plaintiff to headquarters in a paddy wagon with directions to the driver to charge him with 'ABIK.' The detective further testified that when he returned to headquarters, he filled out an offense report listing plaintiff as the person arrested and the offense as ABIK. Further, plaintiff was fingerprinted, placed in a cell block, and an arrest record was made up. The arrest record shows the charge against plaintiff as 'Inv. Con. ABIK.'
Plaintiff is a paraplegic. A police captain testified that he talked with plaintiff about 8 a.m. on the morning of September 19, 1971, concluded that there were no facilities at the jail to care for him and, after talking with plaintiff's Veterans Administration counselor, released plaintiff on his own recognizance.
A warrant was never issued charging plaintiff with a crime, nor did his wife place charges when she recovered and was released from the hospital.
A reporter for defendant prepared the first article, published on September 20, 1971, from a copy of the offense report which, according to standard police procedures, is made available in the detective division to news reporters. This article reads as follows:
'WOMAN IS SHOT; HUSBAND HELD IN INCIDENT
'A Columbia woman was shot and wounded early Sunday morning and her husband has been charged in connection with the incident.
'Columbia Police said Larry Ross of the 3600 block of Ardencaple road has been charged with assault and battery with intent to kill.
'Ross's wife, Carol Lynn, was shot once in the right chest with a .22 rifle.
'Police were called to the scene about 2:30 a.m. Sunday to the hallway of the Ross home where the shooting occurred.'
This reporter prepared a second article, published on September 21, 1971, based on the same offense report, a conversation with a police officer and a telephone call to the hospital, where plaintiff's wife was being cared for. The second article reads as follows:
'MAN QUESTIONED IN WIFE'S DEATH RELEASED FROM JAIL
'A Columbia man held for questioning in connection with the shooting of his wife has been released from jail. No formal charges have been placed against Larry Ross at this time.
'Ross, of the 3600 block of Ardincaple road, was arrested on the scene and put in the Columbia City Jail early Sunday morning and later released.
'The docket in the City Recorder's office lists the charge against Ross as 'investigation in connection with assault and battery with intent to kill.'
'No formal charges have been placed against Ross at this time.
The reporter testified that headlines for articles are written by copy editors and, although the headline for the second article states that the wife was dead, he had no...
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