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 Are Both Forms Of Which Tort In Ohio
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In an action for a libel or a slander, the defendant may allege and prove the truth of the matter charged as defamatory. Ohio recognizes defamation as a tort (a civil action), which means victims of defamation can file a lawsuit in civil court.Libel and slander are considered forms of "defamation" because they can injure a person's reputation. Defamation is the general tort that encompasses statements that damage a person's reputation. The tort of defamation includes both libel (written statements) and slander (spoken statements). First, Ohio has a per se defamation law. This means that certain types of statements will always be defamatory, meaning they are always assumed to cause harm. A defendant in a defamation case may raise a variety of defenses for libel or slander.
