A motion by counsel for Henry Ford to strike out of the complaint of Herman Bernstein, who is suing Mr. Ford for $200,000 for libel, several quotations from “The Dearborn Independent” which were alleged to libel the Jews, was denied by Federal Judge A. N. Hand. The motion was made on the ground that a member of a class cannot sue for libelous attack upon the class if he is not personally referred to, or special damage claimed.
The decision related only to the first cause of action, but the quotations were allowed to remain in the second cause of action, in which the plaintiff alleged libel and injury to himself through Mr. Ford’s having caused to be printed in “The Independent” a statement to the effect that most of the matter contained in the alleged interviews had been called to his attention by the plaintiff.
While the motion was being argued reference was made to the fact that much of the matter quoted from “The Independent” referred to happenings after the voyage of the peace ship in which talks between the plaintiff and the defendant were alleged to have occurred. Concerning this point Judge Hand said Mr. Ford could not therefore have obtained the material for the articles complained of from Mr. Bernstein. The opinion says that “the trial court must be left to deal with the issue as to what matters were in fact said by Ford to have been told him by Bernstein.”
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
