Leaper v. Gandy

WOOD, J.

In an action for slander plaintiff recovered a judgment against defendant in the sum of $2,000 following the return of a jury’s verdict. Defendant’s motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict was denied by the court, from which order defendant appeals. The trial court made an order striking out plaintiff’s cost bill and also made an order granting defendant’s motion for a new trial on the ground that the evidence is insufficient to sustain the verdict “in respect to the amount of damages”. Plaintiff appeals from the two orders last mentioned.

Defendant was the owner of a certain building in the city of Riverside in which were a number of stores. One of these stores was occupied by a company selling groceries and meats and plaintiff was employed as manager of the meat department. In the rear of the building and on the same parcel of land there was a warehouse or storage room divided into two separate rooms by a partition. One of these rooms was occupied by a tenant but the other was vacant for some time and the last tenant to occupy it gave permission to plaintiff to keep his automobile in the room. Plaintiff placed his car in this vacated room during the hours of his employment, but did not obtain permission to do so from the defendant, who resides in the city of Santa Monica.

[477]

Upon one of Ms visits to Riverside defendant noticed plaintiff’s car in the storage room. He then approached plaintiff in the store and in the presence of others and in a loud and angry voice called him a “crook”, a “thief”, and a “loekbreaker”. He said to plaintiff: “You are a dam thief to steal a man's property . . . you broke the lock and broke into the place.” The defendant also said that he was going to the district attorney and swear out a warrant for plaintiff’s arrest. The witnesses who testified concerning the use of this language by defendant stated that it was made in connection with defendant’s charge that plaintiff was improperly using the storage room.

Both parties contend that the language is unambiguous but they do not place the same construction upon it. Plaintiff contends that defendant’s language is actionable

per se,

that it charges plaintiff with crime and tends directly to injure him in respect to his trade or business. Defendant disputes these contentions and argues that since the word “thief” was used in connection with the occupancy of the storage room it was meant to be and was understood by the auditors that no crime was charged. In our view the language is actionable