Home > Great American Court Cases > Reynolds v. Pegler

Legal Citation: 223 F.2d 429 (1954)

Plaintiff
Quentin Reynolds

Defendants
Westbrook Pegler, The Hearst Corporation, and Hearst Consolidated Publications

Plaintiff's Claim
That a certain column published by the defendants on 29 November 1949 libeled the plaintiff.

Chief Lawyers for Plaintiff
Walter S. Beck, Paul Martinson, Louis Nizer

Chief Defense Lawyer
Charles Henry

Judge
Edward Weinfeld

Place
New York, New York

Date of Decision
22 July 1954

Decision
Against all defendants: Reynolds awarded $1 in compensatory damages and $175,000 in punitive damages.

Significance
The lopsided award of a huge amount of punitive damages in connection with an award of only nominal compensatory damages was the largest in history at the time. The decision sent a clear...