Smith v. Doss

• Decision Date: 07 October 1948
• Docket Number: 6 Div. 685.
• Citation: 37 So.2d 118,251 Ala. 250
• Parties: SMITH et al. v. DOSS.
• Court: Alabama Supreme Court

37 So.2d 118

251 Ala. 250

SMITH et al. v. DOSS.

6 Div. 685.

Supreme Court of Alabama

October 7, 1948

Jack H. McGuire, of Tuscaloosa, for appellants.

Frank Bruce, of Tuscaloosa, for appellee.

STAKELY, Justice.

This is a suit brought by Roberta Lindgren Smith and Katrina Lindgren Mathews against James R. Doss, doing business as Radio Station WJRD. The suit seeks to recover damages for the alleged invasion of the plaintiffs' right of privacy. The complaint consists of one count to which demurrers were sustained. On account of this adverse ruling the plaintiffs took a nonsuit. Hence this appeal.

Two questions are presented for decision. (1) May an action be maintained in the State of Alabama for a violation of what has been termed the right of privacy? (2) If so, can the suit be maintained under the facts alleged in this case?

The allegations of the complaint may be summarized in substance as follows. In 1946 James R. Doss, doing business as Radio Station WJRD at Tuscaloosa, Alabama, broadcast a commercial program designated as 'Tuscaloosa Town Talks'. This program was broadcast weekly over a period of several months. There was much public interest in the program. It had a large listening audience in the City and County of Tuscaloosa as well as on the part of others who could tune in on the broadcast. In May 1946 on several broadcasts of this program there was what purported to be a 'sketch, description and practical history of the private and family life of plaintiffs, plaintiffs' father and plaintiffs' family, in which the name, actions and intimate details of the past and forgotten life of plaintiffs' father and of plaintiffs' family are reproduced, resurrected and detailed by graphic descriptions, creating a pen portrait of plaintiffs' father, his past and forgotten life, all recognizable to plaintiffs and to friends and acquaintances of plaintiffs and which clearly identified plaintiffs in the public mind', with the result that 'plaintiffs have been subjected to contempt, ridicule and inquisitive notice of the general public to the injury of their name, personality pride and honor and to the outrage of the finer sentiments of their nature and to the humiliation of their self-respect * * *, their privacy has been invaded and their right to privacy violated * * * and plaintiffs each have been caused and have suffered great mental pain and personal injury and degradation,' the broadcast referred to being substantially as follows.

'Tuscaloosa Town Talks

'Many years ago, there lived in Tuscaloosa a man named John Lindgren, Swedish by nationality. Mr. Lindgren owned a blacksmith shop in Tuscaloosa and was prosperous and happy. He had a wife and two young children, Roberta and Katrina Lindgren. One day he told his family he was going to Birmingham to purchase stock for his blacksmith shop. He drove a pair of mules to an old-fashioned surrey--it was long before the days of the automobile. Mr. Lindgren's bank account was $700.00, in those days a nice savings for a man of his age with his own home and family. He withdrew the entire amount and went on his way.

'In those days, there was a land bridge across the river between Tuscaloosa and Northport. Late in the night a shot was fired in the vicinity of the bridge. For some unknown reason John Lindgren in his surrey drawn by mules was crossing the bridge and apparently he had been murdered. Motive? $700.00. The shot had penetrated the cab of the surrey and Mr Lindgren's coat was found and the shot had also penetrated it. His billfold was found nearby. The mules were stopped and early the next morning, knowing nothing of what had happened, nor to whom the mules belonged, John Sobrey brought them to Tuscaloosa to find the owner. As he approached the bridge, he had much difficulty for the animals, apparently remembering their original experience of the night before, did not want to cross the bridge.

'Hearing of the things that had happened, Sobrey returned the mules and went his way. That night while at home with his family having their evening meal, officers came and broke into the merriment, informing Sobrey that he was being arrested and was going to jail for the murder of John Lindgren, a man he had never seen nor would he ever see. It was a long time before he dined with his wife and children again, for he spent many months in jail and was finally tried for the murder of John Lindgren.

'Not enough evidence of the proper kind was brought before the Court to convict him--a sentence was not given, but he was questioned and cross-questioned and finally released, but the public still believed that he had murdered John Lindgren. He informed the Court that time and God would clear him of that which he had been falsely accused. During all these months the river was dragged and redragged and every inch for miles around was searched for the body of the missing man.

'There lived with the Lindgren family in Tuscaloosa one brother of the missing man. He remained in Tuscaloosa for some time aiding in the search for his brother. For a long time the search went on in vain and was finally abandoned. Solution? Murder? Motive? $700.00. But where was the body? The brother finally returned to his native land and so far as is known was never heard of again.

'Many years passed--twenty-five--and finally one day in 1930 the body of John Lindgren arrived in Tuscaloosa. He had died in California of the dread disease of cancer. Time--and a long time it was--did prove that John Sobrey had been falsely and unjustly accused of the murder of John Lindgren, a man who had spent five months in jail for the murder of a man he never saw and who was not murdered. John Lindgren had lived the twenty-five years from the time of his disappearance in 1905, in California, not once communicating with his family or friends. He had accumulated substantial property and other interests in California. He left a will in which his daughter, Roberta Lindgren, was named the principal beneficiary. It was by means of this will that the California authorities found that he had a family in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where his body finally came to rest in 1930.'

Upon careful consideration we are satisfied that the right of privacy is supported by logic and the weight of authority. The decisions of the various court...