Valentine v. North American Co‪.‬

Plaintiff, John Valentine, filed a suit in the circuit court of Peoria County against North American Company for Life and Health Insurance, a corporation, and Gerald Kaufman, charging that he had been slandered by the utterance of words which had prejudiced him in his business or calling. The trial court held that the words used were slanderous per se and so instructed the jury. A verdict was rendered assessing damages against the defendants in the sum of $5,000 as compensatory damages and $10,000 as punitive damages. The appellate court reversed the judgment for the plaintiff. (16 Ill. App.3d 277.) We granted leave to appeal. The plaintiff, since 1964, had been a successful life insurance salesman in the Peoria area. In December, 1969, he was hired as a general agent for North American Company for Life and Health Insurance. In April, 1970, the company entered into a new agency agreement with plaintiff, executed a long-term lease for office space to be occupied by the plaintiff, and purchased about $10,000 worth of furniture which the plaintiff had selected. Also, North American had agreed to pay $825 per month for office expenses.