A form of publication which tends to cause one to lose the esteem of the community is defamation. This is injury to reputation. A person can be held liable for the defamation of another. In order to prove defamation, the plaintiff must prove:
- that a statement was made about the plaintiff's reputation, honesty or integrity that is not true;
- publication to a third party (i.e., another person hears or reads the statement); and
- the plaintiff suffers damages as a result of the statement.
Slander is a form of defamation that consists of making false oral statements about a person which would damage that person's reputation. If one spreads a rumor that his neighbor has been in jail and this is not true, the person making such false statements could be held liable for slander.
Defamation which occurs by written statements is known as libel. Libel also may result from a picture or visual representation. Truth is an absolute defense to slander or libel.
Some statements, while libelous or slanderous, are absolutely privileged in the sense that the statements can be made without fear of a lawsuit for slander. The best example is statements made in a court of law. An untrue statement made about a person in court which damages that person's reputation will generally not cause liability to the speaker as far as slander is concerned. However, if the statement is untrue, the person making it may be liable for criminal perjury.
If a communication is made in good faith on a subject in which the party communicating it has a legitimate right or interest in communicating it, this communication may be exempt from slander liability due to a qualified privileged.
The following form letter demands that someone cease making libelous or slanderous statements, or appropriate legal action will be taken.
Penalties For Slander And Libel In Collin
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Collin
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US-00423BG
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FAQ
All eviction suits must be filed in the Justice of the Peace precinct where the property is located. You can find the precincts by searching the address on the JP Precinct Map.
Abstract of Judgment: If the defendant owns real property (land), you can get an abstract of judgment from the court that issued the judgment and file it with the county clerk in the county or counties where the defendant owns the property.
The Eviction Suit This suit should be filed in the justice court where the rental property is located. If you are a landlord and do not wish to eFile the petition for an eviction suit, please check with your justice court for a form for the petition.
To remove a holdover tenant in Texas, the landlord must give the tenant a three-day notice to vacate. If the tenant does not move out by the end of the three-day period, then the landlord can file an eviction lawsuit with the court. (Tex. Prop.
For traditional libel under the Revised Penal Code, the penalty is imprisonment ranging from six months and one day to four years and two months, along with a fine.
In an action for slander, the plaintiff must prove special damages, namely proof of actual pecuniary loss, unless the statement complained of falls into one of the four “per se” categories of defamation requiring no proof of special damage: allegations that (1) plaintiff committed a crime, (2) are likely to cause ...
To this end, three types of damages can be awarded for defamation: Special damages: Special damages are real, economic damages. This includes loss of business or customers, loss of earning capacity, or medical bills for therapy. General damages: General damages are damages that are not economic.
Associated Press's definition of libel: Any accusation that a member of society has violated common standards of ethical behavior can lead to a libel suit. In short, libel is publication of false information about a person that causes injury to that person's reputation.
In some states, general damages are allowed in libel (written) but not slander (verbal) defamation cases. In other states, victims of slander can recover general damages, but only when the false statement is obviously harmful (called "slander per se") and caused the plaintiff financial harm.
General damages are those which the law presumes must naturally, proximately and necessarily result from publication of the libel or slander. They are allowable whenever the immediate result is to impair the plaintiff's reputation, although no actual pecuniary loss is demonstrated.
