Waddell v. Roxburgh

Subject_1 Reparation Subject_2 Slander Subject_3 Issue Subject_4 Innuendo — Taking Unfair Advantage to Secure Contract — Verbal Injury. Facts: A newspaper, commenting on the manner in which a contract for printing the register of voters of a burgh had been secured, said—“This contract was secured by the lowest offerer in a mean and contemptible manner. We attach no blame to any of the burgh officials, but to the unfair advantage taken by the successful offerer to secure the contract.”

The party who had secured the contract brought an action against the publisher of the newspaper, averring that the meaning of the statement was that he had obtained the contract by dishonest and improper means, and further, that the statement had been made with the design and the result of injuring him.

The Court held that the pursuer was not entitled to an issue of verbal injury, but allowed an issue of slander.

This was an action of damages at the instance of John Waddell, printer and publisher in Alloa, against Andrew Roxburgh, printer, publisher, and editor of The Alloa Weekly News and District Reporter .

The pursuer proposed the following alternative issues for trial of the cause—“(1) Whether the said statement was of and concerning the pursuer, and falsely and calumniously represented that the pursuer had obtained the said contract by dishonest and improper means, to the loss, injury, and damage of the pursuer. (2) Whether the said statement was of and concerning the pursuer, and whether the said statement was false, and was made and published by the defender with the design of injuring the pursuer, to his loss, injury, and damage?”