Jones v. Littler In the Exchequer, January 16, 1841. Reported in 7 Meeson & Welsby, 423

Slander. The declaration stated that the plaintiff was a brewer, and that the defendant falsely and maliciously spoke and published of and concerning him in the way of his trade as a brewer the false, scandalous, malicious, and defamatory words following: “I’ll” (meaning that he, the defendant, would) “bet £5 to £1, that Mr. Jones” (meaning the plaintiff) “was in a sponging-house for debt within the last fortnight, and I can produce the man who locked him up; the man told me so himself.” Whereupon the said Henry Pye then asked the defendant, “Do you mean to say that Mr. Jones, brewer, of Rose Hill” (meaning and describing the plaintiff), “has been in a sponging-house within this last fortnight for debt?” and thereupon the defendant then replied to the said Henry Pye, and the said other persons then present, “Yes, I do.”

The jury having returned a verdict for the plaintiff, the court granted a rule to show cause why there should not be a new trial, on a suggestion that the learned judge ought to have left it as a question to the jury whether the words were spoken of the plaintiff in the way of his trade, and did not.

Parke, B. It is quite clear that this rule ought to be discharged, for the only ground on which it was granted has failed, inasmuch as the learned judge did leave the question to the jury, whether the words were spoken of the plaintiff in his trade; and, indeed, it is plain that the words were so used, from the fact that in the conversation in question the plaintiff was spoken of as a brewer. Independently of that, however, and even if they were spoken of him in his private character, I think the case of Stanton v. Smith, 2 Ld. Raym. 1480, is an authority to show that the words would have been actionable, because they must necessarily affect him in his trade. It is there said, “We were all of opinion that such words spoken of a tradesman must greatly lessen the credit of a tradesman, and be very prejudicial to him, and therefore that they were actionable.” That case is distinguishable from Ayre v. Craven, 2 A. & E. 2, and Doyley v. Roberts, 1 Bing. N. C. 135. In the latter of those cases the words were not spoken of the plaintiff in his business of an attorney; and in the former it did not appear in what manner the immorality was connected with the plaintiff’s profession of a physician; and it was possible that such imputations of incorrect conduct, out of the line of their respective professions, might not injure their professional characters. But this case is distinguishable, because here the imputation is that of insolvency, which must be injurious; for if a tradesman be incapable of paying all his debts, whether in or out of trade, his credit as a tradesman, which depends on his general solvency, must be injured. The case of Stanton v. Smith, as it appears to me, is good law, notwithstanding the observations of Coltman, J., in Doyley v. Roberts.

Alderson and Rolfe, BB., concurred.

Rule discharged.