233 P. 625 | Wash. | 1925
After demurrer had been sustained to the appellants' amended complaint, judgment of dismissal was entered, the appellants having elected to stand on the record, and they have now appealed.
The amended complaint seeks damages for a libel. It alleges that Louis Graham has been for some years past, and still is, a member of the police department of the city of Seattle, and that the respondent is the publisher of a daily newspaper in that city. On June 3, 1924, it alleges, the respondent maliciously published of and concerning the appellant certain false and defamatory matter to the effect that he had been involved in criminal conduct while a police officer and had been discharged by reason thereof from the department; that Louis Graham was not involved in any crime or criminal conduct while on the police force, or at any other time, and was never discharged from the department; that the publication in question was calculated to provoke the appellants to wrath and to expose them to hatred, ridicule and obloquy, and to deprive them of the benefits of social intercourse, and to the injury of Louis Graham in his occupation, and has caused them great suffering and mental anguish. Sufficient of the article in question for the purpose of this opinion is as follows:
"In the past few years more than 40 Seattle policemen, according to the records, have been dismissed or suspended for offenses ranging from burglary and manslaughter to being drunk on duty. . . . Here is an incomplete list of some of the former policemen: . . . Patrolman Louis Graham, fired, 1920. . . ."
The appellant's name, as above, appears in a list of 32 police officers.
The question for consideration, as stated by the respondent, is, first, is the article libelous per se; second, if libelousper se, does qualified privilege excuse the respondent?
(1) There being no allegation of special damages, the complaint to be sufficient must set up matters which are libelousper se. Wilson v. Sun Publishing Co.,
The respondent places some reliance on the opinion of this court in Wood v. Star Publishing Co.,
In the case at bar, the article not only charges the appellant with the commission of a crime, but, unlike the article in theWood case, the language used tends to do things which come within § 2424 supra.
(2) The second point urged against this amended complaint is that the article was proper under a qualified privilege, and respondent asserts that matters concerning the administration of the government or public justice or local authorities fall within the rule of qualified privilege, and, in the absence of malice, the publisher cannot be held liable in damages. Chambers v.Leiser,
TOLMAN, C.J., FULLERTON, HOLCOMB, and MITCHELL, JJ., concur. *392