The plaintiff was chairman of a railway company. He claimed in defamation after the defendant said there was a rumour of his having failed, thus explaining the fall in the company’s share value.
Held: It was no defence to say that it was true that there was a rumour. The existence of the rumour did not justify the repetition of the slander, unless the defendant both believed it true and that the words were spoken on a justifiable occasion.
Blackburn J said that a party is not the less entitled to recover damages from a court of law for injurious matter published concerning him because another person previously published it.
In the course of discussing innuendo and defamation law he said: ‘It follows . . that the defendant may plead it justification as to the words without the meaning innuendo and also as to them without the meaning’.
Judges:
Blackburn and Lush JJ
Citations:
[1868] LR 3 QB 396, (1868) 9 BandS 279, [1868] 37 LJQB 125, [1868] 18 LT 561, [1868] 32 JP 485, [1868] 16 WR 857, [1861-73] All ER 275
Citing:
Cited – De Crespigny v Wellesley 9-Feb-1829
In an action for a libel, it is no plea, that the defendant had the libellous statement from another, and upon publication disclosed the author’s name. . .
Cited – McPherson v Daniels 1829
Bayley J said: Upon the great point, viz. whether it is a good defence to an action for slander for a defendant to show he heard it from another, and at that time named the author, I am of the opinion that it is not’ and ‘the law will not permit a . .
Cited by:
Cited – Lewis v Daily Telegraph Ltd HL 1964
Ascertaining Meaning of Words for Defamation
The Daily Telegraph had published an article headed ‘Inquiry on Firm by City Police’ and the Daily Mail had published an article headed ‘Fraud Squad Probe Firm’. The plaintiffs claimed that those articles carried the meaning that they were guilty of . .
Approved – Cookson v Harewood CA 1932
In defamation, a defendant cannot escape liabiity by saying that he is only repeating the words of others. Greer LJ said: ‘If you repeat a rumour, you cannot say it is true by proving that the rumour in fact existed; you have to prove that the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Defamation
Updated: 10 May 2022; Ref: scu.270507
