Man who was accused of bad odour sued for defamation and won
This is an old defamation case from England in 1769. Defamation is the area of law concerned with protecting a person's reputation. In this case, Mr. Monsley published the following letter:
"Old Villers, so strong of brimstone you smell,
As if not long since you had got out of hell ;
But this damnable smell I can no longer bear,
Therefore I desire you would come no more here ;
You old stinking, old nasty, old itchy old toad,
If you come any more, you shall pay for your board,
You'll therefore take this as a warning from me,
And never more enter the doors, while they belong to J. P.
- "Wilncoat, December 4, 1767."
The insinuation was that Mr. Villers' had a bad odor and had a disease. One of the judges said, "Nobody will eat, drink, or have any intercourse with a person who has the itch and stinks of brimstone; therefore I think this libel actionable, and that judgment must be for the plaintiff (Mr. Villers)."
Further Reading
Case Name: Villers v Monsley (1769) 95 E.R. 886