Neiman-Marcus v. Lait case brief

Neiman-Marcus v. Lait case brief
1952

Facts: Defendants wrote a book entitled U.S.A. confidential while plaintiffs are the Neiman Corporation operating a department store in Dallas and three groups of its employees. They allege that they were libeled: President does not know that some of the models are call girls and that are top league ones at that while salesgirls are good too and cheaper and not as snooty with this as confidential from a Dallas Wolf. Also states that he contributes to improvement to the women and they are highly desirable and further on the defendants said in their book that it was a specialty shop until they added in a men’s store with a lot of disrespectful comments being made about the people working there. 

Reasoning: Plaintiffs sued in groups of the models, the salesmen and the saleswoman against the writer of the book. The propositions accepted are that if a group is libeled then none can sue while if a group is small then every member can sue. Conflict arises when some or less than all of a designated small group are libeled with some courts saying the suit is okay while others say it is not. The individual has to first be damaged. If it is a small group then it is a lot easier to prove that they were damaged because insulting the small class as a whole insults everyone in the class 

1. The salesman have a cause of action because it is a smaller group and they can all sue together or by themselves

2. The saleswoman cannot sue because they are a huge group and no one would think that any individual saleswoman was being referenced

3. Models can also sue as a small class 

Holding: A large group cannot have a cause of action upon which relief can be granted and should be dismissed as a matter of law  

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