Unbearable!! Miss Caroline Newton Sued for biting a man ear off who was forcibly trying to kiss her.
Unbearable!! Miss Caroline Newton Sued for biting a man ear off who was forcibly trying to kiss her. In 1837, a British man named Thomas Saverland sued Miss Caroline Newton for biting off his nose after he attempted to forcibly kiss her at a party. The overseeing judge ruled that "When a man kisses a woman against her will, she is fully entitled to bite his nose off if she so pleases." Additional details on the case were provided in The Bell's New Weekly Messenger from April 30, 1837. The complainant, whose face bore incontestable evidence of the severe injury inflicted, with the fleshy part of his left nostril completely gone, stated that on the day after Christmas Day, he was in a tap-room where the defendant and her sister were present. The sister laughingly mentioned that she had left her young man down in Birmingham and had promised him that no man should kiss her while she was absent. The complainant took this as a challenge, especially given the holiday time, and ...