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.
Defamation Document For Editing In Contra Costa
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Multi-State
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Contra Costa
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US-00423BG
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The amount one can sue for defamation varies widely based on several factors including the severity and extent of damage caused by the defamatory statement. However, damages typically range from thousands to millions of dollars depending on circumstances such as loss earnings and emotional distress.
Defamation is an invasion of the interest in reputation. It may be libel or slander. (California Civil section 44; herein, “Civ. Code § __.”) The tort involves (a) a publication that is (b) false, (c) defamatory, and (d) unprivileged, and that (e) has a natural tendency to injure or that causes special damage.
In order to prove a defamation case, a plaintiff must show that there has been a false statement, about the plaintiff, that has been published and seen by members of the public, and which has caused the Plaintiff damage.
In California, you must prove five elements to establish a defamation claim: An intentional publication of a statement of fact; That is false; That is unprivileged; That has a natural tendency to injure or causes “special damage;” and, The defendant's fault in publishing the statement amounted to at least negligence.
The plaintiff must show that the false statement was so inherently defamatory that it falls into one of California's nine types of defamation per se or prove that they experienced damages to their reputation as a result of the statement.
Where to file by City, ZIP code CityZIP Code(s)Your courthouse is Pleasant Hill 94523 Wakefield Taylor Courthouse, Martinez Point Richmond 94801 George D. Carroll Courthouse, Richmond Port Costa 94569 Wakefield Taylor Courthouse, Martinez Richmond 94530, 94801 - 94808, 94820, 94850 George D. Carroll Courthouse, Richmond32 more rows
The Superior Court of Contra Costa implemented its E-filing system in 2022. They selected Odyssey Case Manager from Tyler Technologies, a software solution in use by 29 of the 58 courts in the state.
Report: Employees PositionSuperior CourtTotal Wages Executive Officer Contra Costa County Superior Court $240,886 Judge, Superior Court Contra Costa County Superior Court $224,758 Judge, Superior Court Contra Costa County Superior Court $224,183 Judge, Superior Court Contra Costa County Superior Court $219,9676 more rows •
Where to file by City, ZIP code CityZIP Code(s)Your courthouse is Hilltop Mall 94806 George D. Carroll Courthouse, Richmond Knightsen 94548 Richard E. Arnason Justice Center, Pittsburg Lafayette 94549 Wakefield Taylor Courthouse, Martinez Martinez 94553 Wakefield Taylor Courthouse, Martinez32 more rows
(a) The Northern District comprises the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Monterey, Napa, San Benito, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Sonoma. Court for the Northern District shall be held at Eureka, Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose.
