Lewis, Gent. Against Clement
| Jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Judgment Date | 21 June 1820 |
| Date | 21 June 1820 |
| Court | Court of the King's Bench |
English Reports Citation: 106 E.R. 817
IN THE COURT OF KING'S BENCH.
lewis, gent, against clement. Wednesday, June 21st, 1820. Declaration for a libel concerning the plaintiff in his profession as an attorney. The libel began, " shameful conduct of an attorney," and then proceeded to give an account of 818 LEWIS V. .CLEMENT 3 B. & AID. 703. proceedings in a Court of Law, which contained matter injurious to the plaintiff's professional character. The defendant pleaded that the supposed libel contained a true account of the proceedings in the Court of Law: Held, after verdict for the defendant, that the plea was bad, inasmuch as the words "shameful conduct of an attorney " formed no part of the proceedings in the Court of Law, and that the plaintiff was therefore entitled to judgment. Queere, whether it be lawful to publish proceedings of a Court of Law containing matter defamatory of a person neither a party to the suit nor present at the time of the enquiry. [S. C. on appeal, 7 Moo. 200.] Declaration by plaintiff, an attorney, stated that before the publishing of the libel he had been retained and employed by one Wm. Carter as his attorney, and that the defendant, intending to injure him, did compose, print, and publish, in a public newspaper called the Observer, the following libel concerning the plaintiff in his profession, and concerning his conduct in the proceedings on behalf of Wm. Carter: " Insolvent Debtors Court.-Shameful conduct of an attorney. Eades and Wood v. Carter.-Wm. Carter, the insolvent, an elderly man, by trade a carpenter, who resided at Ramsgate, and possessed a house and garden, exceeding 5001. in value, was opposed in his discharge by Mr. Heath on the part of his creditors. The ground of Mr. Heath's opposition was that the insolvent had put his clients, the opposing creditors, to considerable expense in defending two [703] actions, brought by them for goods delivered and received, and for bringing a bill of error after the verdict had been given against him, which put them to a further expense; and also for wasting his effects, by giving a warrant of attorney, and mortgage of his house, to his solicitor, Mr. Lewis, of Eamsgate, and thereby defrauding the remainder of the creditors by-such an undue preference." The libel then proceeded to give the substance of the speeches of counsel and the examination of the insolvent, which contained matter reflecting on the plaintiff's conduct as attorney, and concluded by stating, that the Judge, Mr. Serjeant Kunnington, deprecated in strong language the conduct of plaintiff, and suggested to Mr. Heath that in such a flagrant case they ought to apply to the Court of King's Bench-upon the subject of Lewis's conduct. Plea, first, not guilty; second, that William Carter had been imprisoned and detained in custody for debts due to Eades and Wood; that William Carter appeared before the Insolvent Debtor's Court as an insolvent debtor seeking his discharge from imprisonment; and that upon that occasion G. H. Esq., as counsel for Eades and Wood, publicly in the Court opposed the discharge of Carter from imprisonment; then stating, as such counsel, publicly in and to the same Court, as follows : " It then set out his statement, as well as that of the opposite counsel, the...
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