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.
Slander And Libel Law Forms Of Which Tort In Massachusetts
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Libel is a method of defamation expressed by print, writing, pictures, signs, effigies, or any communication embodied in physical form that is injurious to a person's reputation; exposes a person to public hatred, contempt or ridicule; or injures a person in their business or profession.
Second, libel is actionable per se (i.e. without proof of damage) whereas slander, subject to exceptions (see below), is actionable only upon proof of 'special' damage (actual damage is probably a less misleading and therefore better phrase to use though)
As a tort, defamation is a civil wrong that involves the publication of a false statement that harms the reputation of an individual or organization.
Defamation is a statement that injures a third party's reputation. The tort of defamation includes both libel (written statements) and slander (spoken statements). State common law and statutory law governs defamation actions, and each state varies in their standards for defamation and potential damages .
If someone has defamed you, you can sue them for slander. Since it falls under tort law, you can pursue your case in civil court and seek monetary damages. You must bring proof of the defamation.
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.
Under Massachusetts law, a plaintiff alleging libel must ordinarily establish five elements: (1) that the defendant published a written statement; (2) of and concerning the plaintiff; that was both (3) defamatory and (4) false; and (5) either caused economic loss, or is actionable without proof of economic loss.
Written defamation is called "libel," and spoken defamation is considered "slander," and they both fall under "defamation." In the US, defamation is not usually a crime. Instead, it is a "tort" or civil wrong. Under the law, a person who has been defamed can seek damages from the perpetrator.
Libel is the act of writing damaging statements and slander is the act of making such statements verbally. For a statement in either category to be considered defamatory, it must meet the following criteria: It must be published or made publicly. This means it can be spoken aloud in office or sent via email or memo.
