Is there a cause of action for defamation where the words “get down in the gutter where you belong” are not actionable?
Saskatchewan, Canada
The following excerpt is from Ball v. Donnelly, 1918 CanLII 252 (SK QB):
As to No. 1 the words alleged to have been spoken by defendant are: “You are no lady; get down in the gutter where you belong; you are lower than the dirt.” I am satisfied that the words alleged were published by the defendant but I am of the opinion there is no cause of action as no special damages are shown. The only damage alleged by plaintiff is that people whose names she does not know avoided her in her husband’s store. (See Odgers on Libel and Slander, 5th ed., p. 378): The special damage necessary to support an action for defamation where the words are not actionable in themselves must be the loss of money or of some other material temporal advantage capable of being assessed in monetary value (Chamberlain v. Boyd, 11 Q.B.D. 407; 52 L.J.Q.B. 277.
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