Pollard v. Lyon’s Empirical Analysis
91 U.S. 225 · 1875
Citation profile
35 federal appellate · 4 district · 88 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 152 later decisions (5 by the Supreme Court) — most recently April 1988 · most notably Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc. (1974), Peck v. Tribune Co. (1909)
35 federal appellate · 4 district · 88 state decisions — followed in 32 states
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.
Relationships
Relies on Brooker v. Coffin · Chaddock v. Briggs · Cook v. Cook · Williams v. Hill
Most-quoted passages
The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 152 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
““Oral slander, as a cause of action, may be divided into five classes, as follows: (1) Words falsely spoken of a person which impute to the party the commission of some criminal offence involving moral turpitude, for which- the party, if the charge is true, may be indicted and punished. (2) Words falsely spoken of a person which impute that the party is infected with some contagious disease, where, if the charge is true, it would exclude the party from society; or (3) Defamatory words falsely spoken of a person, which impute to the party unfitness to perform'the duties of an office or employment of profit, or the want of integrity in the discharge of the duties of such an office or employment. (4) Defamatory words falsely spoken of a party which prejudice such party in his or her profession or trade. (5) Defamatory words falsely spoken of a person, which, though not in themselves actionable, occasion the party special damage. * * * Certain words, all admit, are in themselves actionable, because the natural consequence of what they impute to the party is damage, * * * but in all other eases the party who brings an action for words must show the damage he or she has suffered by the false speaking of the other party.””
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majoritye.g. Dunn v. Bruat““ Where the words are not in themselves actionable, because the offense imputed involves neither moral turpitude nor subjects the offender to an infamous punishment, special damage must be alleged and proved in order to maintain the action. * * * In such case it is necessary that the declaration should set forth precisely in whal way the special damage resulted from the speaking of the words. It is not sufficient to allege, generally, that the plaintiff lias, suffered special damages, or that the party has been put to great costs and expenses. * * * By special damage, in such a ease, is meant pecuniary loss.””
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority“In such a case, it is necessary that the declaration should set forth precisely in what way the special damage resulted from the speaking of the words. It is not sufficient to allege generally that the plaintiff has suffered special damages, or that the party has been put to great costs and expenses. Cook v. Cook, 100 Mass. 194.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.