Pfeifly v. Henry

Citations

• 269 Pa. 533
• 112 A. 768
• 13 A.L.R. 1018
• 1921 Pa. LEXIS 602

Syllabus

<p>Blander — Ambiguous language — Innuendo—Falsifying scales— Case for jury.</p> <p>1. Where words have a double or doubtful meaning, the plaintiff in an action for slander may, by innuendo, charge which meaning he attributes to them; it then becomes a question for the jury to say whether the language was used with that meaning or uttered in a different sense.</p> <p>2. In an action of slander by a person in trade against a former employee, where the language charged is that plaintiff “does not weigh correctly, he -had shown me how to fix the scales when he went away,” and the innuendo avers that defendant meant to charge plaintiff with falsifying his scales and selling merchandise by false weight, a criminal offense, the case is for the jury.</p>