Court Opinion

ID: 9855238
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 06:21:25.395142+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:25:15.509260
License: Public Domain

NOBLE, Justice (concurring in part and ■dissenting in part). Although I concur in the result insofar as it affects appellee Dorcis Stienbaugh, I dis■sent from the affirmance of the judgment as to appellee Jean Roberts. I am particularly troubled by Mr. Justice 'Compton’s treatment of the issue of reasonable cause. Under § 40-45-26, N.M.S.A. 1953, the person who effects the detention ■of the suspect must have reasonable cause to believe that a theft was being committed. That the appellees denied removing the price tag and placing an article of merchandise in a purse would certainly place in conflict the evidence as to whether the clerk had reasonable cause to believe that a theft had occurred. But here, the detention was caused by the manager rather than by the clerk, so we must determine whether the manager had reasonable cause. Appellee’s denial does not place that issue in a conflict to be determined by the fact-finder. In this instance, the manager did not himself see what had occurred but relied upon a statement as to what the clerk had seen. In such a case, the only question of fact is what information was related to the manager by the clerk, not whether , the clerk actually saw what he told the manager. Miller v. Lee, 66 Cal.App.2d 778, 153 P.2d 190. It is undisputed that the manager was told by the clerk that he actually saw Jean Roberts remove the price tag from an article and conceal it in her purse. Whether such information constituted reasonable cause to believe that Jean Roberts was shoplifting is a question of law and not one of fact for the jury. Gibson v. J. C. Penney Co., 165 Cal.App.2d 640, 331 P.2d 1057; Rothstein v. Jackson’s of Coral Gables, Inc., (Fla.App.) 133 So.2d 331; Aitken v. White, 93 Cal.App.2d 134, 208 P.2d 788. See 47 Northwestern U. Law Rev. 82, and note, 3 UCLA Law Rev. 269. The exigencies of the situation and sound reasoning support' the conclusion that a manager has the right to rely and act upon a report given him by an employee, who is apparently sincere and credible, that he had seen a person take and conceal an article of merchandise. Grau v. Forge, 183 Ky. 521, 209 S.W. 369, 3 A.L.R. 642. See, also, J. C. Penney Co. v. Cox, 246 Miss. 1, 148 So.2d 679. In my view, the manager, as a matter of law, had reasonable cause to believe that Jean Roberts had “unlawfully taken goods held for sale by the place of business” and, therefore, the defendants are not liable to her for false imprisonment. I agree with Mr. Justice Compton that there was no reasonable cause for .believing appellee Dorcis Stienbaugh to be guilty of a theft and that her action for false imprisonment must be sustained. The manager himself saw nothing to justify a belief that she was shoplifting, nor did the clerk report that he saw her conceal any merchandise. The mere fact that Dorcis was in the store with Jean Roberts cannot justify an inference that Dorcis was guilty of shoplifting. Appellants contend that there is no liability in slander to appellee Dorcis Stienbaugh because the statements made to the investigating police officers at the check-out counter were in the exercise of a qualified privilege. The law has long recognized that a communication is qualifiedly privileged when made in good faith on any subject matter in which the person communicating has an interest or in reference to which he has a duty to protect to a person having a corresponding interest or duty, even though the communication contains matters which, without this privilege, would be actionable. J. C. Penney Co. v. Cox, supra; Scott-Burr Stores Corp. v. Edgar, 181 Miss. 486, 177 So. 766; Hartsfield v. Harvey C. Hines Co., 200 N.C. 356, 157 S.E. 16. Nevertheless, the better-reasoned cases hold that such a privilege cannot arise unless the person making the statement has reasonable cause to believe it to be true. J. C. Penney Co. v. Cox, supra; Baskett v. Crossfield, 190 Ky. 751, 228 S.W. 673; Louisville Times Co. v. Lyttle, 257 Ky. 132, 77 S.W.2d 432; Chagnon v. Union-Leader Corp., 103 N.H. 426, 174 A.2d 825. See, also, Schlaf v. State Farm Mutual Ins. Co., 15 Ill.App.2d 194, 145 N.E.2d 791. As noted earlier, it is clear to me that the evidence was insufficient to show that reasonable cause existed to believe that Dorcis Stienbaugh was guilty of a theft. The communications were not privileged, and the judgment awarding her recovery for slander must, therefore, be affirmed. However, the slander action by Jean Roberts presents an entirely different situation. As I have pointed out, in my view the manager had reasonable cause to believe that the statements made to him concerning the actions of Jean Roberts were true. Accordingly, the statements he made to the police officers are not actionable because of the protection afforded by the defense of qualified privilege. The fact that slanderous matter may have been communicated to others to whom the matter was not addressed and who were accidentally present does not destroy the qualifiedly privileged nature of the communication, so the fact that patrons of the store may have heard the manager’s statement to the police officers does not destroy his privilege. Scott-Burr Stores Corp. v. Edgar, supra; Montgomery Ward & Co. v. Skinner, 200 Miss. 44, 25 So.2d 572; New York and Puerto Rico S.S. Co. v. Garcia, 1 Cir., 16 F.2d 734; Hartsfield v. Harvey C. Hines Co., supra; Kroger Grocery & Baking Co. v. Yount, 8 Cir., 66 F.2d 700, 92 A.L.R. 1166; Walgreen Co. v. Cochran, 8 Cir., 61 F.2d 357. Appellee Roberts seeks to support her recovery for slander by the conversation the following day between the manager and a friend of Dorcis Stienbaugh. Since the basis of recovery for slander is an injury to the reputation, proof that the person to whom the alleged slanderous statement was made understood it as relating to the plaintiff is essential to a recovery. Helmicks v. Stevlingson, 212 Wis. 614, 250 N.W. 402, 91 A.L.R. 1158, 1160; Chagnon v. Union-Leader Corp., supra; Ins. Research Service v. Associates Finance Corp., (D.C.Tenn.) 134 F.Supp. 54; Anno. 91 A.L.R. 1161; Weidman v. Ketcham, 278 N.Y. 129, 15 N.E.2d 426 ; 53 C.J.S. Libel & Slander § 82, p. 133. The only evidence called to our attention respecting that conversation is that in reply to a question as to what was all this about Dorcis, the manager indicated that “they” had been guilty of shoplifting. There was, however, no evidence that the person to whom the statement was made understood that reference was made to Jean Roberts. Without proof of such fact there can, of course, be no recovery in slander. In my view, the judgment in favor of Jean Roberts should be reversed and the judgment in favor of Dorcis Stienbaugh should be affirmed. I therefore concur in the result as to the Dorcis Stienbaugh judgment and dissent from affirmance of the judgment in favor of Jean Roberts.