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 Without Proof In Fairfax
Category:
State:
Multi-State
County:
Fairfax
Control #:
US-00423BG
Format:
Word;
Rich Text
Instant download
Description
Form popularity
FAQ
Small Claims actions can be filed in the General District Court for disputes involving no more than $5,000.
You can make a court claim for amounts under £10,000. You can do this online or by post, and, crucially, you shouldn't need a lawyer – the system is designed with this in mind.
Slander, defamation and libel are all treated the same in Virginia. Defamation is a false statement of fact published or communicated to another person that causes injury to the reputation of the subject of the statement. Truth is an absolute defense to a defamation law suit.
To be successful with defamation claims under Virginia Law, plaintiffs need to show the following elements: Factual assertion: The statement should be a claim of fact, not an opinion, a joke, or a hyperbole. False: It should be a false statement. It is not slander if the statement is the truth or substantially true.
Defamation that causes long-term damage, particularly if it affects your career, social standing, or personal life, will result in higher damages than something short-term that might be forgotten within a year. The more severe and lasting the harm, the greater the compensation.
With the exception of punitive damages, there is no set limit on damages in Virginia defamation cases. Punitive damages are limited to $350,000. Easy or early settlements are rarer than you may expect. Cases resolved early are often heavily discounted.
The requisite degree of fault: The plaintiff must prove that the defendant acted maliciously or negligently in making the defamatory statement. It causes actual or presumed damages: The statement should cause some harm to the person being slandered.
Your reputation must suffer harm — The false and defamatory statement at issue must actually damage the reputation of the subject of the statement to support a lawsuit for defamation. The burden is on the plaintiff (the person bringing the lawsuit) to prove such damage — often a difficult task.
The Vital Time Limit In defamation law, timing is crucial. Both libel and slander claims must be initiated within 12 months from the date of the statement's publication.
Is it hard to win a defamation case? Defamation lawsuits are challenging because they require a lot of fact-finding. It may require experts to testify on your behalf about the psychological and emotional harm you've suffered. Unless your lawyer is working on a contingency basis, it can also be quite costly.
More info
Defamation can be verbal (slander) or written (libel). Slander is the publication of a harmful, false statement of fact about another person.Slander refers to spoken or oral defamation. Virginia Defamation Attorneys Protecting Clients' Rights for Nearly 20 Years. Handling libel and slander cases throughout Northern VA. What Civil case types are available to eFile? Defamation suits often seek damages in the form of compensation for humiliation and embarrassment. Defamation and the Media. Administrative Appeal.
