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.
Libel With Meaning In Harris
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Harris
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Libel is the publication of false statements that damage someone's reputation. Libel refers to specific claims that can be proved untrue.Libel and slander are types of defamatory statements. Libel is a defamatory statement that is written. Libel is a written defamation; slander is a spoken defamation. What are the elements of a defamation claim? Libel is a written, including signs or pictures, defamation. Slander is oral, involving speech. The dominant issue to be decided in each case is what standard of liability should govern an award of compensatory damages in a libel action in Virginia. The defence of partial justification only requires the defendant to prove that at least one of the imputations complained of was substantially true.
