Bellingheri v. Aliosi
Bellingheri v. Aliosi
Opinion of the Court
In this action for speaking slanderous words in Italian concerning the plaintiff, the declaration properly set out the words as spoken in the foreign language and also their meaning in English. Romano v. De Vito, 191 Mass. 457. There
The evidence on behalf of the defendant was that she called the plaintiff a “banniana;” meaning, in a Sicilian dialect, “either a she Town Crier or a she Hawker.” Apparently this was the only defence relied upon. It was a question for the trial judge to decide what words were used by the defendant, and what meaning they naturally conveyed to the understanding of the persons in whose presence they were uttered. In finding for the plaintiff he necessarily decided this and all the other issues of fact in her favor. Downs v. Hawley, 112 Mass. 237. Miller v. Parish, 8 Pick. 384. Kenney v. McLaughlin, 5 Gray, 3. See Whiting v. Smith, 13 Pick. 364; Rutherford v. Paddock, 180 Mass. 289; 15 Ann. Cas. 1242 note.
Order dismissing report affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Maria Bellingheri v. Maria De Luca Aliosi
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- ” which in the English language meant a whore. The plaintiff’s evidence tended to show that the word was used in the presence of others who understood its meaning and that it was in the Sicilian dialect. There was a finding for the plaintiff. Held