Court Opinion

ID: 9848310
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 04:16:21.067003+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:18:12.218678
License: Public Domain

Pannell, Judge,
dissenting. The plaintiffs petition alleged she *68had been injured and damaged by the defendant and that "the said damages arose by authorized agents of defendants falsely and maliciously saying that plaintiff stole money from Cudahy Company, Inc., on February 16, 1971, and subsequent.” Assuming for the sake of argument, that the statement of law pronounced in Division 1 of the majority opinion is correct, this allegation was sufficient to set forth a claim for slander against the defendant corporation. And upon the trial of the case the plaintiff would have to show that some agent or servant of the defendant was authorized by the corporation to make such defamatory statements. But we are not here upon a trial, but determining an appeal from the grant of a motion for summary judgment in behalf of the defendant. The defendant, therefore, in order to pierce the pleadings, must show by uncontradicted and unimpeached evidence that no agent or servant of the defendant was so authorized, or that they made no such statements. The plaintiffs deposition, taken by the defendant for the purpose of discovery, failed to show plaintiff was present when any such statements were made in the presence of others. Her deposition also failed to prove that any agent was authorized to make such statements. Her testimony did, however, show that she claimed a named employee had told her a named person, one of the supervisors in her department, stated to the employee that plaintiff was fired for taking money. While this was hearsay and does not prove plaintiffs case, that burden is not upon her on the defendant’s motion for summary judgment. I merely mention this to show there is a probability evidence is available to show at least a publication of such defamatory statement by an employee of defendant and plaintiffs testimony does not disprove her case, or show it incapable of proof. Neither did the affidavits of Charles F. Muehlbauer, Assistant Corporate Controller of the defendant company, and the affidavit of Ralph A. Smedley, of the defendant company. The affidavit of Mr. Muehlbauer showed that he was Mr. Smedley’s immediate supervisor, and his affidavit in material part, thereafter, is as follows: "I can state without hesitation that I did not authorize, direct or in any way suggest that Ralph A. Smedley make any statements derogatory of or accuse Mrs. Barbara White of stealing. I can further state that Cudahy Company did not authorize, direct or in any way suggest that Robert Smedley accuse Mrs. White of stealing money from the Company or make any statements derogatory of Mrs. Barbara White, and if any such statements or any of like tenor were made, they were purely of Robert Smedley’s own initiative and without any direction or *69authorization of Cudahy Company.” Even should we assume, for the sake of argument, that this affidavit conclusively shows Smedley was not authorized to make the slanderous statements alleged, Smedley is not the only servant or agent of defendant, nor do the pleadings allege he was the one who made the slanderous statements, upon which the action is based. What about the affiant himself; did he make the alleged slanderous statements, and if so, was he authorized by the corporation to do so? He comes within the ambit of the pleadings but the record here is silent as to his activities in this regard. The pleadings are, therefore, not pierced, and this affidavit demands no finding against the allegations of plaintiffs petition. Further, this affidavit not having pierced the allegations of the petition, plaintiff is not called upon to introduce evidence to the contrary.
The content of Mr. Smedley’s affidavit, so far as material is as follows: "In my capacity as Plant Controller at Cudahy Company, Atlanta Plant, I unequivocally state that I was never authorized nor directed by Cudahy Company to accuse Mrs. White of stealing or taking any money from Cudahy Company. I never accused Mrs. White of stealing money from the company and I never made any statements to anyone that were in any way derogatory of Mrs. White nor did I authorize anyone to accuse Mrs. White of stealing money from the Cudahy Company. Cudahy Company never directed nor authorized or consented for me, or anyone, to make any statements derogatory of Mrs. Barbara White.”
Assuming for the moment that the affidavit of Mr. Smedley is uncontradicted and unimpeached, this affidavit only shows that Mr. Smedley was not authorized to make any defamatory statements, and that he authorized no one to do so. There is no evidence that he was the only officer or agent or servant of the company authorized to authorize someone. In the last sentence of his affidavit he does swear that the company never directed or authorized him "or anyone” to make any statements derogatory to plaintiff. This is the only statement which could conceivably pierce the allegation of plaintiffs petition. In my opinion, this statement "or anyone” is a mere conclusion of the witness as this knowledge that no one was authorized, if it ever came to him, had to be hearsay. This is true, even though he states in his affidavit that everything therein is made on his personal knowledge. Under the majority opinion we find ourselves in the position of granting a summary judgment, without benefit of trial, to a defendant based upon such weak and insufficient evidence. For these reasons, I *70dissent from the majority opinion.
I am authorized to state that Judges Deen and Evans concur in this dissent.