‘Mr. Los Angeles’ Wins Libel Retrial

On this date, L.A. attorney Joseph Scott, known as “Mr. Los Angeles,” read about himself in The Times. A story alleged that he had taken advantage of client Bessie Olive Hillman, wife of Pasadena millionaire Clarence D. Hillman, by inducing her to file for divorce, though she had no desire to do so. Scott sued for libel and won. The Times was ordered to pay him $30,000. The paper successfully appealed. But when the case was retried, the jury awarded Scott $47,700. A copy of the check signed by Times Publisher Harrison Gray Otis would hang on Scott’s library wall for the rest of his life.