Wormouth v. Cramer

Decided October 15, 1829

New York Supreme Court · decided 1829-10-15

This was an action of slander, tried at the Herkimer circuit in September, 1828, before the Hon. Nathan Williams, one of the circuit judges. The declaration alleged the words to have been spoken by the wife of Cramer, charging the wife of Wormouth with having stolen a fine lawn cap. The words were set forth in the declaration in the English language. They were proved to have been spoken in the German language. The persons who heard the speaking understood the German language.

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1829-10-15

How this case has been cited

Cited by 8 later decisions — most recently January 1915

8 state decisions

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.

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¶1By the Court,

Savage, Ch. J.

¶2The rule is, that words proved must be proved as laid ; that is, substantially so; and it is not enough to prove words of similar import. How can this rule be complied with when words are laid in one language and proved in another 1 This is emphatically proving words of similar import. The judge at the circuit was correct in nonsuiting the plaintiff for a variance. The cases cited by the defendant’s counsel shew that the proper mode of declaring is to state the words in the foreign language, and to aver the signification of them in English, and that they were, understood by those who hearfhem. (Starkie on Slander 85, 308.) This was done in the case of Demarest v. Haring, (6 Cowen, 76,) though no question on that point arose in that case.

¶3Motion to set aside nonsuit denied.