104 Ky. 335 | Ky. Ct. App. | 1898
delivered the opinion of the court.
On May 26, 1896, the defendant was a corporation, and published in the city of Louisville a newspaper called the Courier-Journal, and the plaintiff was a farmer, residing in Boyle county. On that day the following article appeared in the daily edition of that paper: “Harrodsburg, Ky., May 26. (Special.) It has just been learned from a man of unquestioned integrity, who lives in the neighborhood, that Tom Sallee, of near Parksville, in'Boyle county, is expected to die of terrible treatment received a short while ago at the hands of two brothers, both of whom had for some time past suspected their wives of unfaithfulness. They concocted a scheme, and each went to his respective home, and each discovered by stealth another man in his room. One of the men was recognized, but' the identity of the other was not learned. The two brothers retreated, and, gathering several friends to their aid, laid in wait the next night at a house where it was thought that Sallee would be caught visiting for a similar purpose. The party
We will consider these alleged errors seriatim. The ground oñ which the motion for a continuance was based was identical with that for which the change of venue was granted from the Boyle to the Lincoln Circuit Court, i. e. that some of the citizens of Lincoln county entertained hostile feelings against defendant, growing out of its attitude towards the candidates of the Democratic party in the presidential campaign which had just closed. The propriety of granting a continuance on this ground is nec
We can not think that the second objection — that the court erred in rejecting evidence offered by the defendant, and in admitting evidence offered by the plaintiff — is urged seriously. The defendant was given the utmost latitude in the introductiQn of its evidence as, for example, the defendant was permitted to prove by its correspondent who forwarded the article all the sources of his information with regard thereto, how and from whom he heard the report, and what the parties said to him, although not one of his informants professed to have any personal in
The chief contention of defendant is that the court erred in failing to instruct the jury that plaintiff was not entitled, under the facts of the case, to récover punitive damages; and it especially complains that that part of' the instruction given by the court authorizing, punitive • damages was not qualified by the use of the word.“malice.”’