McClure v. Review Publishing Co.

Citations

• 38 Wash. 160
• 80 P. 303
• 1905 Wash. LEXIS 1139

Syllabus

<p>Libel and Slander—Pleading—Complaint—Requiring Newspaper Articles to be Set Out in Full. In an action for libel in the publication of newspaper articles, it is proper to require the complaint to be made more definite and certain by setting out the articles in full, since the- full meaning of the objectionable parts can be ascertained only when construed in connection with the whole.</p> <p>Libel and Slander—Newspaper Account of Arrest and Prosecution—Express Malice—When Necessary. A series of newspaper articles purporting to be a statement of the acts, theories, and representations of law officers relating to the pursuit, arrest, trial, and acquittal of the plaintiff, who was charged with burglary, are not libelous per se, and are qualifiedly privleged, where there was no statement as to plaintiff’s guilt or imputing to her the commission of crime, when construed with reference to the whole text; and the defendant is not liable in the absence of an allegation of express malice.</p>