Economopoulos v. A.G. Pollard Co. – Case Brief
Economopoulos v. A.G. Pollard Co., 218 Mass. 294, 105 N.E. 896 (Mass. 1914).
Facts: An agent of A.G. Pollard (D) accused Economopoulos (P) of stealing a handkerchief. A clerk communicated the accusation to Economopoulos in English and the statement was repeated to him in Greek by a Greek clerk. There was no evidence that anyone but P was present when the clerk spoke to P in English, nor was there evidence that anyone understood the Greek statement.
P brought a defamation action against D for statements by D’s employees accusing P of larceny. The court entered judgment in favor of D and P appealed.
Issue: Must the plaintiff prove the publication of defamatory statements to maintain a defamation action?
Holding and Rule: Yes. The plaintiff must prove the publication of defamatory statements to maintain a defamation action.
In the context of defamation, “publication” merely means communication of the defamatory statement to a third party. The third party must understand the statement to be defamatory. The court held that in this case P did not prove the publication of the allegedly defamatory statements.
Disposition: For D.
Notes: There is no publication if people can hear a defamatory statement but no one can understand it. “Publication” means any action that causes a statement to be communicated to a third person who understands it to be defamatory. Publication may be intentional or negligent. A showing of an intent to defame is not required.