Opinion · Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit

Sullivan v. Meyer

Sullivan v. Meyer, 141 F.2d 21 (Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit 1944)

Type
Opinion
Court
Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
Jurisdiction
Federal
Date
1944-02-29
Topic
general

EDGERTON, Associate Justice. Appellee’s newspaper The Washington Post, in a news story about a “Nazi Probe,” said that appellant was “the author of a defeatist, anti-Jewish book.” Appellant sued appellee for libel. Appellee pleaded the defenses of truth and fair comment. Appellant’s 195-page book “The Road to Victory !” was read to the jury. The court ruled out the issue of fair comment, overruled appellee’s motion for a directed verdict, and submitted the case to the jury on the issue of truth.

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Cited by
12 opinions
SULLIVAN v. MEYER,141 F.2d 21(D.C. Cir. 1944)
SULLIVAN v. MEYER.
No. 8525.
United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit.
Argued February 8, 1944.
Decided February 29, 1944.
Appeal from the District Court of the United States for the District of Columbia.

Action for libel by George E. Sullivan against Eugene Meyer. Judgment for defendant, and plaintiff appeals.

Affirmed.
Mr. George E. Sullivan, of Washington, D.C., with whom Mr. William J. Neale, of Washington, D.C., was on the brief, for appellant.

Mr. Spencer Gordon, of Washington, D.C., for appellee.
Before GRONER, Chief Justice, and EDGERTON and ARNOLD, Associate Justices.
EDGERTON, Associate Justice.
Appellee's newspaper The Washington Post, in a news story about a "Nazi Probe," said that appellant was "the author of a defeatist, anti-Jewish book." Appellant sued appellee for libel. Appellee pleaded the defenses of truth and fair comment. Appellant's 195-page book "The Road to Victory!" was read to the jury. The court ruled out the issue of fair comment, overruled appellee's motion for a directed verdict, and submitted the case to the jury on the issue of truth. The verdict and judgment were for appellee.

The court correctly instructed the jury that "the truth is an absolute defense in an action for libel, and if they find that `The Road to Victory' was in fact a defeatist, anti-Jewish book, as those words would be understood by ordinary readers of The Washington Post, their verdict must be for the defendant." The contents of the book, which are in the record, sufficiently support the jury's verdict. Since that is the case, the Post's opinion that the book was defeatist as well as anti-Jewish was at least a reasonable opinion; and since there was no evidence that the words were used in bad faith or with a bad motive, the court might very well have directed a verdict for appellee on the issue of fair comment which we think it incorrectly ruled out of the case. Potts v. Dies, 77 U.S. App. D.C. 92,132 F.2d 734.

Affirmed.Page 22