Tipton v. Rains
Decision Date | 22 March 1929 |
Citation | 15 S.W.2d 496,228 Ky. 677 |
Parties | TIPTON v. RAINS. |
Court | Kentucky Court of Appeals |
Appeal from Circuit Court, Whitley County.
Action by S. J. Rains against J. M. Tipton. Judgment for plaintiff and defendant appeals. Reversed, with directions.
R. L Pope, of Knoxville, Tenn., and Oscar W. Black, of Corbin, for appellant.
H. C Gillis and W. B. Early, both of Williamsburg, for appellee.
The appellee, who was the plaintiff below, brought this action for slander against the appellant charging him with having uttered falsely and maliciously, in the presence of numerous persons, the following words: And on another occasion with having spoken falsely and maliciously, concerning the plaintiff these words: D' The plaintiff recovered a judgment for $500, and the defendant has appealed.
At the time the words are alleged to have been spoken, appellant was a candidate for mayor of the city of Corbin and the appellee was the city engineer. The appellant used the language complained of in the course of speeches made by him in the advocacy of his election to the office of mayor and was taken down in shorthand. He pleaded as a defense the truth of the words spoken and qualified privilege. The appellee was the only witness who testified. The appellant did not testify, nor did he introduce any witnesses in his behalf. The appellant insists that the occasions on which the statements were made were qualifiedly privileged, and the burden was therefore on the plaintiff to prove both the existence of malice and that the charges were false. The plaintiff introduced no evidence tending to show that the charges were false, and the only question to be determined is: Were the occasions referred to qualifiedly privileged?
A statement made in good faith on any subject-matter in which the person making the statement has an interest, or in reference to which he has a duty, is privileged, if made to a person or persons having a corresponding interest or duty,...
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