Fegley v. Morthimer

202 A.2d 125, 204 Pa. Super. 54, 1964 Pa. Super. LEXIS 540

• Court: Superior Court of Pennsylvania
• Decided: June 30, 1964
• Docket: Appeal, 57
• Status: Published

Opinions

Opinion by

Flood, J.,

This is an appeal from the refusal of the court below to enter judgment for the defendant in a libel action, notwithstanding a jury verdict for the plaintiff.

The appellee moved to quash the appeal because the court below did not formally act upon the defendant’s motion for judgment n.o.v. But in its opinion the court “dismissed” both of the defendant’s reasons for judgment n.o.v., although it did not enter a formal order dismissing the motion, as it should have. In addition, it granted a new trial as to both the appellee and his co-plaintiff, thus in effect dismissing the motion for judgment n.o.v. The motion to quash is dismissed.

The appellant bases his argument for judgment n.o.v. upon the ground that the allegedly libelous statements were not capable of a defamatory meaning, the writing is not libelous per se and special damages were neither alleged nor proved.

We agree with the lower court that the newspaper article quoted in part below¹ is capable of a defamatory meaning. Without benefit of innuendo, it can be read as accusing the appellee of conspiring with Councilman Reich to purchase Reich’s property at an exorbitant price in breach of his fiduciary duty as a member of the school board and chairman of its planning committee. This imputation, if made with malice, constitutes libel per se and is actionable without proof of special damages.

Section 573 of the Restatement, Torts, states that “one who falsely and without a privilege to do so, publishes a slander which ascribes to another conduct . . . incompatible with the proper conduct of his . . . public office whether honorary or for profit, is liable to the other.” Section 570 provides that one who makes such publication is “liable to the other although no special harm or loss of reputation results. . . .” See Cosgrove Studio and Camera Shop, Inc. v. Pane, 408 Pa. 314, 182 A. 2d 751 (1962). The publication in this case clearly imputes to the appellee conduct which is incompatible with the duties of his public office. It is, therefore, actionable under the rule laid down in Section 573 of the Restatement and, under Section 570, actionable without proof of special harm or loss of reputation. In Cosgrove Studio and Camera Shop, Inc. v. Pane, supra, Justice Eagen states: “any language which unequivocally, maliciously and falsely imputes to an individual or corporation want of integrity in the conduct of his or its business is actionable.” The court cites Sections 570 and 573 of the Restatement of Torts. Since these sections establish the same criterion for liability based upon false statements regarding a public officer, it follows that language falsely and maliciously imputing want of integrity in the conduct of a public office is actionable. The order of the court below must be affirmed.

The plaintiff-appellee asks us to go further and direct the trial judge at the new trial to charge that the publication was clearly defamatory and libelous per se and that conditional privilege is not a defense. In view of the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964), we cannot direct such a charge. It was there held that the guarantee of free speech in the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, applicable under the Fourteenth to action by the states, precludes recovery for the publication of a false statement in a newspaper with regard to a public officer unless the plaintiff proves that it was made with actual malice, as there defined and discussed. In view of this burden, a verdict for the plaintiff could not be directed in this case.

Order affirmed.

1 “A bosom pal of Reich is Dr. Homer B. Fegley wbo just happens to be on the Union School District Board and Chairman of the two million dollar high school planning committee. Fegley, to boot, is President of the Chamber of Commerce and likewise a power in that dormant WIN, which, if we can believe reports, should have thousands of dollars tucked away someplace while Lehighton is starving for action to bring us industry and jobs. Well, you are about to build this school and the Fegley Committee beats down all opposition and decides to jam it in a patch of school district owned land up along Beaver Run Road. But on the edge of the desired site is a once abandoned farm house owned by none other than Councilman George Reich. In a mighty quick deal, the School Board, with Fegley’s Committee pushing, bought the place for something like $17,500. That’s a mightly fine price considering that just a few doors from where I live on South Third Street is one of the best houses in Lehighton, offered at $20,000.”