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eBook details

• Title: Pickens v. Donaldson
• Author : Mississippi Supreme Court
• Release Date : January 23, 1999
• Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
• Pages : * pages
• Size : 62 KB

Description

Libel — Taxpayers Petitioning Removal of County Officer — Privileged Publication in Absence of Malice — Evidence — Court may Withdraw Case from Jury, When. Libel — Evidence as to Malice in One Only of Large Number of Defendants Inadmissible — Reason. 1. In an action for libel by a county employee against a large number of taxpaying residents jointly, who had presented a petition to the board of county commissioners asking for plaintiffs removal for certain reasons stated therein, evidence tending to show malice in two of defendant petitioners only was properly excluded, since, the action being joint against all defendants, requiring a joint verdict, the evidence, if admitted, might have worked to the prejudice of those defendants who were not actuated by malice in signing the petition by a possible increase of the amount of recovery against all because of presence of malice in but two. Same. 2. For the reason above the court did not err in excluding offered testimony that one of defendants had been active in circulating the petition for signature, offered as it was for the purpose of showing malice against plaintiff in the one circulating it. Same — Publication of Petition Signed by Taxpayers Asking Removal of County Employee Privileged if Malice Absent. 3. Under the law of libel, the publication of a petition signed by taxpayers containing charges against a public officer or employee of a violation of his obligations to the financial detriment of the county, and asking for his removal, is privileged unless made with malice, even though the statements contained therein are false. Same — Court may Withdraw Case from Jury, When. 4. Notwithstanding the provision of section 10 of Article III of the Constitution, that in an action for libel the jury shall determine Page 31 the law as well as the facts, the question whether an alleged libelous communication is privileged or not is one for determination by the trial court as one of law, and where it was privileged and there was no evidence of malice presented, the court properly withdrew the case from the jury by granting defendants motion for non-suit.

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