Lewis v. Anthony Republican Publishing Co.

Citations

• 111 Kan. 257
• 206 P. 873
• 1922 Kan. LEXIS 218

Syllabus

<p>SYLLABUS BY THE COURT.</p> <p>Libel — Slackerism and Perjury — Inducement and Innuendo Sufficiently Pleaded. During the war with Germany, the defendant published in its newspaper an article concerning plaintiff, an able-bodied, unmarried man of military age, in which mention was made of plaintiff’s futile efforts to procure deferred classification, and stated that when he was called to a military training camp and enroute thereto a friend got him off the train with permission to return to his home, that the local and district draft boards investigated his case, and that he made contradictory affidavits to excuse the breaking of his jourñey to the military training camp. Plaintiff’s petition exhibited such article, and alleged that it was false and malicious, that it caused plaintiff’s friends and associates to consider him and refer to him as a slacker, and had led them and the readers of defendant’s paper to believe that the plaintiff had sworn falsely and had been guilty of perjury. Held, that the petition stated a cause of action in damages for libel, and that defendant’s demurrer thereto was properly overruled.</p>