Mills v. Denny
Iowa Supreme Court
245 Iowa 584, 63 N.W.2d 222 (1954)
- Written by Sarah Hoffman, JD
Facts
James Mills (plaintiff) was an attorney practicing in Des Moines, Iowa. Mills attended a city council meeting along with a client. During the meeting, Allan Denny (defendant), the mayor of Des Moines, Iowa, said aloud so that everyone in attendance could hear that Mills was “guilty of dereliction of duty as an attorney” because he had given his client bad advice about whether the city council had the power to enact the actions the client was petitioning for. Mills sued Denny for slander. Denny filed a motion to dismiss on the grounds that he had been acting in his role as mayor and member of the city council and therefore had absolute privilege to make defamatory statements. The trial court denied Denny’s motion to dismiss, and Denny appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Larson, J.)
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