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SLANDER ACTION—SOLICITOR’S
PRIVILEGE
Hams and Anor. v. Dennis
T
h e
plaintiffs were a firm o f London fire assessors
and the defendant was a member o f a firm of
solicitors. The plaintiff firm had been engaged to
assess loss arising from a fire in the premises o f Mr.
Henry Colk, draper, which involved the adjoining
premises occupied by Mr. V . G. Anderson. Mr.
Colk and Mr. Anderson consulted the defendant
on a proposal that they should effect a mutual
exchange o f their respective premises. A t an inter
view at which Messrs. Anderson and Colk were
present the defendant was alleged to have said
“ Tell me Mr. Colk, who are your assessors ? ”
Mr. Colk handed a card to the defendant who then
spoke the following words complained o f : “ Harris ?
Harris ? Harris and Co., Leopold Harris ? Did he
start the fire ? How did you get this man ? ” Mr.
Leopold Harris of the plaintiff firm had in point of
fact been convicted and had served a term of
imprisonment for fradulent claims against insurance
companies arising out o f fires in London before
the war. He brought an action claiming damages
for slander arising out o f the words alleged to have
been uttered by the defendant. Mr. Justice
Streatfield summing up for the jury referred to the
case o f Minter
v.
Priest (1930. A . C. 558) in which
it was held that the privilege in the relation between
solicitor and client must be interpreted within a
very wide and generous ambit. As for malice,
it was true that the defendant had not believed that
the plaintiffs had started the fire in question. It
was, he admitted, a cheap joke. There was no
evidence o f any unreasoning prejudice against the
plaintiff and he had apologised for the words used.
The jury found
(a)
That the defendant spoke the
words complained o f ; (
b
) That the words were
defamatory o f the plaintiffs ; (r) That the defendant
was not under a duty to speak the words complained
o f ;
(d)
That Mr. Anderson was present not in the
capacity o f a client or intending client o f the defen
dant, but was present to assist Mr. Colk in giving
instructions to the defendant;
(e)
That the words
were not spoken maliciously;
(f)
Damages to the
plaintiff, Harris,
£
too, to the plaintiff firm, £100.
His Lordship giving judgment said that the question
o f law was whether the occasion was one either of
absolute or o f qualified privilege. In view o f the
finding o f the jury there was no absolute privilege.
As the jury had found that Mr. Anderson was
present for the purpose o f assisting Mr. Colk in
instructing the defendant the words must have been
spoken either in the course of giving these instruc
tions.oro f giving an opinion on the instructions.
In these circumstances his Lordship ruled that the
case was one o f qualified privilege and as there was
no evidence o f malice there must be judgment
for the defendant.
{The Times Newspaper.)
LIBRARY ACQUISITIONS
Books received
Belfast and Ulster Directory, 1951. Benjamin—
The Law o f Sale o f Personal Property, 8th edition,
1951. Brierly—The Law o f Nations, 4th edition,
1950. Cambridge Law Journal, 1951. Carter—
Solicitors’ Book-keeping, 1951.
Chalmers and
Asquith—Outlines o f Constitutional Law, 1922.
Cheshire and Fifoot—Law o f Contracts, 1949.
Citrine—Trade Union Law, 1951.
Conveyancer
and Property Lawyer (Quarterly) from January,
1951. Dangerfield—Law of Rent Restrictions, 1951.
Denning (Lord Justice)—Freedom under the Law,
1950. Dymond—Death Duties, n th edition, 1951.
Edwards—-Compendium of Law of Property and
of Conveyancing, 5th edition, 1922. Elman—The
Law in relation to Partners, 1950. Elphinstowe—
Covenants Relating to Land, 1946. English and
Empire Digest—Replacement Volumes, 12, 30 and
31.
Evans—Buying and selling a House, 1950.
Everest and Strode—The Law o f Estoppel, 1923.
Field-Fisher—Animals and the Law, 1950. Garner
—The Law of Sewers and Drains. Gavan-Duffy—
The Senate in the Irish Constitution o f 1937 (Thesis,
1947). Goodeve—Modern Law of Real Property.
Gross—Criminal Investigation, 4th edition, 1950.
Hanbury—Modern Equity, 5th edition, 1949.
Harrison—Digest o f Tax Cases, 6th edition, 1950.
Hibbert—Leading Cases in Conflict o f Laws, 1931.
Hill—Complete Law o f Housing, 4th edition, 1950.
Holmes—The Common Law, 1991.
Indermaur
and Thwaite—Practical
Conveyancing,
1920.
International Who’s Who—(Donation, 1947). Irish
Catholic Directory, 1951. Jackson and Gossett—
Investigation of Title, 6th edition, 1950. Jenks—
Digest o f English Civil Law, 2 vols., 4th edition,
1947. Jenks—History of Doctrine o f Consideration,
1892. Jordan—Notes on Chancery Practice, 1949.
Josling—Adoption o f Children, 1950. Josling—
Periods o f Limitation, 1951.
Koch—Double
Taxation Conventions, 1947, Supplement, 1950.
Law Quarterly Review (as from January, 1951).
Legal Bibliography o f British Empire—4th Supple
ment, 1950. Lindley—Law o f Partnership, n th
edition, 1930. McFarlane—Motorists and the Law,
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