Wolfard v. Herald Printing & Pub. Co.
| Decision Date | 05 January 1893 |
| Citation | 133 Ind. 372,32 N.E. 929 |
| Parties | WOLFARD v. HERALD PRINTING & PUB. CO. |
| Court | Indiana Supreme Court |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Appeal from circuit court, Bartholomew county; N. W. Keyes, Judge.
Action by Nathan D. Wolfard against the Herald Printing & Publishing Company for libel. A demurrer to the answer was overruled; plaintiff excepted, refused to plead further, and appealed from the judgment on such ruling. Affirmed.
W. J. Beck, for appellant. Geo. W. Cooper, C. B. Cooper, and W. W. Lambert, for appellee.
The question presented by the record and argument of counsel is the sufficiency of the appellee's answer in justification of the libel pleaded in appellant's second paragraph of complaint. In the lower court a demurrer to this answer was overruled; appellant excepted, refused to plead further, and has appealed from the judgment of the court upon such ruling.
It is earnestly contended that the justification does not plead facts from which the court can hold the entire charge to be true. The substance of the publication complained of is that a Mrs. Snyder, who was possessed of property and means of great value, was a member of the church of which the appellant was a minister, and she was believed by many to be of unsound mind, she being of “peculiar temperament,” and “there being in the family a strong taint of insanity;” that, in the absence of her husband, the appellant, with others, visited her at her home; that in approaching the house they hid their vehicles, and when in the house they closed the doors, drew the blinds “to prevent suspicion from persons passing” “that any wrong was being accomplished,” and remained there five hours; that by strong persuasion, and other means not so reputable, they induced her to make over to them, for the benefit of a certain college, $20,000 in cash and notes; that on the next morning they presented at the bank a check by Mrs. Snyder for $2,000, when “the disreputable game got its first setback” from the refusal of the banker to pay the check until the drawer's mental condition could be judicially determined; that lawyers had been retained, and steps taken to “head off the confidence men;” and that there existed general “ indignation over this attempt to rob the woman of her property, and on all sides the contemptible instruments of the confidence game are being soundly denounced.” The answer affirms the truth of the matter published substantially in the language of the publication, excepting the part thereof which we have italicized, and as to that part of the charge the answer proceeds as follows: “That the friends of Mrs. Snyder, and the public generally, were indignant at plaintiff's actions set forth, and said actions were ridiculous and dishonest, and rendered plaintiff the...
To continue reading
Request your trial