RAMSGATE II APARTMENTS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. JAMES SCOTT and DOROTHY E. SCOTT, Defendants-Respondents., 112 Wis. 2d 669

Summary

After the former employer fired the employee, the employee applied for a job at an arcade. When the manager of the arcade telephoned the former employer for a recommendation, an unidentified woman stated that the employee was fired for carrying a gun. The manager testified that as a result of this statement, the employee did not get the job at the arcade. The jury found that the employer's statement was false and constituted an abuse of the employer's conditional privilege. On appeal, the court held that the trial court correctly instructed the jury that the employer was liable if it made a false statement in reckless disregard of its truth or falsity. The employer's motion for a directed verdict was properly denied because there was credible evidence showing that the employer did not attempt to verify whether the employee carried a gun. The trial court's denial of the employer's motion for a new trial was not an abuse of discretion because the employer could have discovered prior to ...