Richardson v. Public Ledger Co.

Citations

• 260 Pa. 602
• 103 A. 955
• 1918 Pa. LEXIS 572

Syllabus

<p>Libel — Lvidence—Admissibility—Cumulative evidence — Discretion of court — Damages■—■Children’s home ■ — Conditions at other time.</p> <p>1. Where in an action to recover damages for a libelous publication, defendant filed a plea of justification and. undertook to prove the truth of the article complained of and produced witnesses who testified to the actual state of affairs observed by them covering practically the -whole period discussed in the alleged libel, it was not error for the court below to refuse to receive other evidence amounting to no more than tenders of additional or cumulative proofs as of a time subsequent to the alleged libel.</p> <p>2. In the trial of such a case, it was not error for the trial court to refuse testimony, offered by defendant tending to deny facts as to conditions relating to a period subsequent to the publication, where it appeared that evidence of such conditions had aimlessly crept into the case without objection by defendant or had been brought out upon cross-examination by defendant’s counsel, and especially where such evidence was not such as would appear to affect the verdict to a material degree.</p> <p>3. In the trial of an action to recover damages for the publication of an alleged libel in defendant’s newspaper, it appeared that the publication'contained severe strictures upon the conditions of a children’s home with which plaintiff was connected as a trustee and medical director. Plaintiff offered, evidence to show that the article was untrue and that she had suffered damage. Defendant under its plea oí justification offered evidence to prove that the publication was substantially true, and, after calling several witnesses who had first-hand knowledge of conditions in the home during the period which the publication complained of, offered the testimony of other witnesses who had inspected the institution nineteen days after the publication. The court rejected this testimony. The jury rendered a verdict for plaintiff