49 Iowa 474 | Iowa | 1878
The innuendo could point or fix the meaning of the words, but never enlarge it. If the words in their ordinary sense were not defamatory, but were in fact so used, the extrinsic matter showing they were so used should be stated in the pleading; and it was the office of the innuendo to point or fix the meaning, being aided therein by the colloquium or extrinsic matters pleaded. Certain it is, we think, the petition under consideration does not contain a sufficient statement of a cause of action at common law. It remains to be seen whether it is sufficient under the statute.
The Code provides: “In an action for slander or libel it shall not be necessary to state any extrinsic facts for the purpose of showing the application to the plaintiff of any defamatory matter out of which the cause of action arose, or that the matter was used in a defamatory sense; but it shall
It is sufficient for the pleader, so far as the question before us is concerned, to set out the words and the defamatory sense in which used. If this be true, it logically follows that the petition in the case at bar cannot be assailed as defective; for until the plaintiff has introduced his testimony it is impossible to tell whether the words were used in the defamatory sense alleged or not. See, also, Swearingen v. Stanley, 23 Iowa, 115.
REVERSED.