Public-domain · open source
OpenJurist

2 Abb. Pr. 430

Forsyth v. Edmiston

The Superior Court of New York City

Decided February 15, 1856

The Superior Court of New York City · decided 1856-02-15

Demurrer to a complaint. This was an action of slander brought by William R. For-syth against John Edmiston and James Edmiston. The complaint stated three causes of action.

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1856-02-15

How this case has been cited

Cited by 4 later decisions — most recently September 1917

4 state decisions

201856186018701880189019001910decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

View the full empirical analysis of this case →

SlossoN, J.

¶1I think the demurrer well taken in this, that the expressions charged to have been spoken, are not alleged to have been the identical words spoken, or even as in substance the words spoken which, perhaps, would be good, but as words and statements of a certain tenor, import, and effect, which is bad. (Maitland v. Joldney, 2 East., 427; Cook v. Cox, 3 Maule & S., 110; Ward v. Clarke, 2 Johns. R., 10).

¶2As a general rule an action of slander will not lie against two, though an action for composing and publishing a libel may. (Chitty's Plead., 74; Bul. N. P. 5; Johns. R. 32).

¶3Whether, where the slander is alleged to have been uttered in pursuance of a conspiracy between the defendants, a count *432to that effect would be good, is unnecessary to decide, since the demurrer is sustained on the other ground ; but I am inclined to the opinion that such a count would be good.

¶4There must be judgment for the defendants on the demurrer with costs — with liberty to plaintiff to amend his count within twenty days.

/2/abbpr/430 · .json · Public domain