Want to know more about defamation? Curious as to when someone can sue for telling lies?
Stay to the end, as I go through the five elements in a defamation claim, don’t forget to share article if you enjoy this information
Hi, in this article i would like to write about the subject of defamation.
Defamation is a false statement published to a third party, by the actor, of and concerning, the plaintiff, tending to cause damage to the plaintiff’s reputation.
After I go through all five elements, I will quickly explain how Defamation has been changed by the U.S. Constitution.
1: False statement.
To meet this element, the statement must be able to be proven true or false, This means that opinions don’t qualify, For example, someone says that a restaurant has the worst tasting pasta in the entire city, That is an opinion and therefore the restaurant owner cannot due for defamation.
In contrast, if someone says that the pasta at that restaurant killed his son that is a statement that can be shown to be true or false.
2: Published to a third party.
The statement must be made to someone other than the plaintiff, if you privately go up to someone and you falsely accuse them of murder, the plaintiff cannot sue for defamation.
However, if someone overhears the conversation, then this element is met.
Keep in mind that self-publication doesn’t count, For example, after the private conversation, the plaintiff tells everyone he knows about the conversation with the defendant, Because the plaintiff self-published the false statement, this element is not satisfied.
3: By the actor.
The defendant must be the person who made the statement.
However, there is an exception known as the repeater rule, if someone repeats a defamatory statement, the repeater is also liable for defamation.
For example, suppose that Stranger overhears the conversation accusing the plaintiff of murder.
Stranger then sends an email, quoting what was said, Stranger is then liable for defamation because he is a repeater.
4 Of and concerning” the plaintiff.
Normally, this element is not at issue in a defamation case, but there are some defamation cases, where the element is contested.
In one type of case, a statement may not name the plaintiff, but everybody knows who was being discussed.
For example, someone says that a former African-American President sold government secrets.
Since this can only be one person, it doesn’t matter that the person’s name wasn’t used.
Also, a statement must be directed at an identifiable plaintiff.
Again, for example, a statement that says all men are liars cannot be brought by some man.
5: Tending to cause damage to plaintiff’s reputation.
This is what we call defamatory, To be defamatory, the person must be held up to scorn, ridicule, and contempt by a right-thinking group of people.
defamation examples
Suppose, for example, that an archaeologist claims that another professional can’t read ancient Greek, even though that person’s entire career is based on translating ancient Greek, Though most of society wouldn’t think this is defamatory, other archaeologists would, Therefore, this would qualify as a defamatory statement.
How about another example, Suppose that Bonnie, a career criminal, is known by other criminals as being very tough, Police officer makes a false statement, saying that Bonnie is actually very nice and would never hurt anyone.
This false statement causes Bonnie to be held up to scorn, ridicule, and contempt by other criminals, Because criminals are not right thinking members of society, this element is not met in a defamation action.
U.S. Constitution.
Before I begin, What we are about to explain is a broad oversimplification of a complex topic, The Supreme Court of the United States has altered defamation by adding some requirements based on the plaintiff’s status.
If the defamed person is a public person, like a politician, an actor, or a football star, then the plaintiff must also prove that the defendant acted with malice.
To establish malice, the plaintiff must prove that either the defendant knew the statement, or was false or was reckless as to the statement’s truth or falsity, This is why newspapers usually won’t run stories unless they get two reliable witnesses, that way they can’t be accused of acting with malice.
Next, if the plaintiff is a private person in a public matter, then the plaintiff can recover actual damages, if they're able to prove that the defendant was negligent as to the truth, or falsity of the statement he made.
Finally, the law is a bit cloudy as to what constitutional constraints, if any, should apply to a private person in a private matter.
How do you prove defamation?
Libel and slander are both types of defamation falsely conveying a very negative impression of another person or business.
for example if Lindsay says Joe is a convicted criminal, or is dishonest, or deals in stolen and defective merchandise, or spreads herpes, that certainly could create a negative impression about Joe.
But unless Lindsay’s statement was false, it's not defamatory no matter how much it may hurt Joe's feelings or harm Joe's reputation or business.
True statement are protected by the First Amendment's right to freedom of speech, even if Lindsay had cast her statement as her opinion rather than fact, we think Joe spreads herpes that wouldn't shield Lindsay.
When statements of opinion may be reasonably interpreted as stating actual facts, they are treated like any other defamatory statement.
So what's the difference between slander and libel?
if the defamatory statement is spoken such as, in a conversation with friends in a speech before an audience or on radio or TV, it is called slander.
Libel refers to defamatory statements made in writing whether in a letter, newspaper or book or in an email, or on a Web site.
Just because somebody made a false statement that created a negative impression about you does not mean you are likely going to become rich.
Suing for slander or libel in most circumstances, you have to be able to prove that you or your business suffered actual financial harm as a result are the libel, or slander to collect punitive damages you also will likely have to prove the defamatory statement was made with actual malice.
In other words the person making the statement knew, it was false or showed reckless disregard for the truth, those things can be very difficult to prove, and some defamatory statements such as those made during legislative debate or in court papers, are absolutely privileged political figures and those involved in public.
Debate have an especially high hurdle so that the threat of defamation suits, does not have a chilling effect on free speech rights, as libel and slander cases are usually difficult, and expensive to handle, so very few lawyers take them on and fewer still would think of doing so, on a contingency fee basis.
