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Keywords

plaintiffdefendanttrialoverruledgood faithjury instructions

plaintiffdefendanttrial

Related Cases

Slocinski v. Radwan, 83 N.H. 501, 144 A. 787 (Mem), 63 A.L.R. 643

Facts

Roman W. Slocinski, the pastor of the Holy Cross Church, was accused of various forms of misconduct by members of his congregation, including theft and immoral behavior. The defendants, Radwan, Stec, and Krolikowski, claimed their statements were made in good faith and were based on reliable information. However, the court found that the jury was misled by erroneous instructions regarding the privilege of the defendants' statements, which led to the decision to grant a new trial.

Roman W. Slocinski, hereinafter called the plaintiff, is the pastor of the Holy Cross Church in Manchester, and is variously referred to in the record as the “priest” and the “bishop.”

Issue

Did the trial court err in its instructions to the jury regarding the privilege of statements made by the defendants that imputed criminal conduct to the plaintiff?

Rule

Communications made in good faith on a subject in which the communicator has an interest are privileged, even if they contain actionable statements, provided there is no malice.

In the absence of malice, an utterance may be qualifiedly privileged even though it is not true and notwithstanding the fact that it contains a charge of crime.

Analysis

The court determined that the jury was incorrectly instructed that statements imputing criminal conduct could never be considered privileged. This misinterpretation undermined the defendants' primary defense, as the law allows for qualified privilege in discussions among church members regarding the qualifications of their pastor, provided the statements are made in good faith and without malice.

The destructive effect of this erroneous charge upon one of the most important contentions made by the defendants is obvious, but the plaintiff argues that they were not harmed by it, because upon another ground the claim of privilege was untenable.

Conclusion

The court concluded that the erroneous jury instructions were prejudicial to the defendants' rights, necessitating a new trial in the first three cases, while the plaintiff's exceptions in the fourth case were overruled.

We therefore conclude that the instructions of the court which denied to the defendants the benefit of the doctrine of conditional privilege with reference to statements imputing criminal conduct to the plaintiff were not only erroneous but highly prejudicial to their rights, and require the granting of a new trial.

Who won?

The prevailing party in the first three cases was Roman W. Slocinski, as the jury found in his favor, but a new trial was ordered due to errors in the trial process. In the fourth case, the defendants prevailed.

The jury found in favor of the plaintiff in the first three cases and for the defendant in the fourth.

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