139 N.W. 115 | S.D. | 1912
Plaintiff brought this action seeking to recover damages which he alleged to have suffered through the publication by defendant, in -a newspaper owned by defendant, of an article containing much which were certainly libelous in character. In that part of the publication which is material to the questions presented to us, the plaintiff, was accused with having, while engaged as foreman of a petit jury in the trial of an important criminal, action wherein one Lewis was defendant, tampered with and wrongfully influenced -the actions and verdict of the jurors whereby a verdict of “not guilty” was returned in favor of said Lewis; and said publication, after detailing to some extent the methods used in influencing the said jurors, alleged, “This rotten deal was ‘put up’ in -the county treasurer’s office, and Bill Irwin was picked -to do -the dirty work.” Defendant, answering, pleaded the truthfulness of the accusations contained in such publication, and in connection therewith alleged, with much detail, facts going to show the truthfulness of such publication; one of the said allegations being “that the corrupt transaction by which the said jury was induced to agree upon a verdict of acquittal was planned and agreed upon by the said plaintiff and the agents of said Lezvisd1 Defendant also- alleged, with considerable detail, stories that had been told to him by different parties named, all of which 'would tend to show the truthfulness of the matters contained in such publication, and as a part of these allegations he alleged that "the story has often been told to this defendant in this cause, of how an acquittal in said action was brought about through the influence and negotiations of the plaintiff in this action, who was the foreman of the said jury”; this allegation being followed by details of what had been told to defendant. Plaintiff moved the trial court asking that defendant be required to serve and file a bill of particulars specifying in detail the name or names of the alleged “agents • of said Lewis” with
A reading of the decisions of the various courts reveals a great diversity of views as to what is the true purpose of a bill of particulars. In some it -would seem that, through a bill of particulars, a party could seek almost any information desired in
Perhaps no courts have been called upon to determine what constitutes a proper bill of particulars more frequently than have the courts of New York, and we believe that her courts have drawn the proper distinction between what is and what is not the proper subject-matter of such a bill, and in no case that has come to our attention has this been more clearly done than in the case of Ball v. Evening Post Publishing Co., 38 Hun, 11. This also was an action for libel brought against a newspaper, and based upon certain alleged false and scandalous publications derogatory -to the character of plaintiff. The publications in question accused the plaintiff of having published and circulated false and scandalous statements of and concerning Grover Cleveland, who was then a candidate for the presidency. The answer, among other things, charged that plaintiff “and certain other false-minded persons” had confederated together in causing the publication of slanderous matters concerning said Cleveland; that they ■had caused to- be published “divers false, scurrilous, vile and scandalous stories and charges;” that plaintiff was the pretended chairman of ,a certain political organization and, as such, had solicited funds from “various political parties and people and candidates for office”; and that, after the publication by plaintiff of the charges against Mr. Cleveland, the defendant, having ascertained from “trustworthy sources” the falsity of said charges, did then publish of and concerning the plaintiff the articles men
Tne New York court discussed fully the question of the authority of the tpial court -to order a bill of particulars in a case of this nature, and, after holding that such court had the power, it then considered whether or not such power had been abused, and in considering .that matters said: “The only proper office of a bill of particulars is to give information of the specific proposition for which the pleader contends, in respect to any material and issuable fact in the case, but not to disclose the evidence relied upon to establish any such proposition. * * * To constitute a good answer, in justification, in an action of libel, it is not enough to allege that the alleged libelous matter complained of is true. At common law it is necessary to state the particular facts which evince the truth of the imputation upon the plaintiff’s character, whether the imputation is of a general or specific nature. And as Chitty states the rule, it is necessary, although the bill contains a general imputation upon the plaintiff’s character, that the plea should -state specific facte, showing in what particular instances and in what exact manner he has misconducted' himself. Ch. PI. 494, 495. It was held in Wachter v. Quenzer, 29 N. Y. 547, that the substance of that rule was not abolished by the Code. But that rule requires only a statement of the necessary facte, and not of the evidence of those facts. The rule is the same in respect to pleading- mitigating circumstances, since only such as are pleaded
Testing the answer in this case by the rules that guided the court in the case of Ball v. Evening Post Publishing Co., supra, what conclusion, must we reach? It must be borne in mind that plaintiff was charged with two things, not only with tampering
The order -appealed from should be modified by omitting therefrom the provision requiring defendant -to reveal “the name or names- of such persons -claimed to have often made the statements to defendant herein,” and, as so modified, it should be and is affirmed, without costs -to either party.