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 And Slander In Tort In Maryland
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In Maryland, for most civil actions you have a period of three years after the act which caused you the harm to file a lawsuit. However, by law some types of cases have a different limitation period. For example, the limitation period for assault, libel, or slander is one year.
§ 5-105. Assault, libel, or slander actions An action for assault, libel, or slander shall be filed within one year from the date it accrues.
Defamation is the collective name for two separate torts: libel and slander. The distinction turns on the permanence of the defendant's statement, but broadly speaking libel covers written publications (even if quickly removed) whereas slander is for more transient statements, such as spoken words.
How to file a Maryland State Tort Claim. To file a new claim, please complete the STO's Electronic Notice of Claim Form (NOC). For additional claim information, please visit the STO's Insurance Website. The form is for State claims, only.
(i) A libel is a defamation which has been caused in permanent form i.e., in written or printed form. (i) Slander is a defamation in a transient form i.e., by speech or by gestures. (ii) It is a criminal offence as well as a civil wrong.
These include: There must be a defamatory statement. The defamatory statement must be understood by right-thinking or reasonable minded persons as referring to the plaintiff. There must be a publication of the defamatory statement, that is to say, it must be communicated to some person other than the plaintiff himself.
The most common defenses to defamation are: 1) truth; 2) consent; 3) privilege; and 4) the statute of limitations. Perhaps the most distinct aspect of the defamation cause of action is that falsity is required. In other words, the statement publicized about the plaintiff must be false in order to prove defamation.
Slander can be hard to prove, as the complainant must show the slanderer was driven by malice and knew their claims were false. Slander is different from libel, which are false statements made through print or broadcast.
