Slander With Me In Palm Beach
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To state a claim for defamation in Florida, a plaintiff must allege that (1) the defendant published or said a false statement; (2) about the plaintiff; (3) to a third party; and (4) the falsity of this statement caused injury to the plaintiff. The resulting injury can be to one's reputation or financial harm.
To prove defamation, a plaintiff generally must show: • A false statement purporting to be fact; • Publication or communication of that statement to a third person; • Fault amounting to at least negligence; and • Damages – that is, some harm caused to the plaintiff's reputation.
Stat. § 768.73(1)(a) (2025).) Because defamation per se causes obvious reputational harm, in some cases Florida law might award you "presumed" damages. Presumed damages typically are nominal—$1 or $100, for instance—and can be awarded even if you can't prove any economic or noneconomic losses.
You may also file a complaint by calling our office at 561-233-5500 Monday – Friday AM to PM, excluding County recognized holidays. An on-call Code Enforcement Officer is also available at 561-233-5523 for general questions Monday – Friday AM to PM, excluding County recognized holidays.
If you can successfully prove defamation, either by libel or slander, you can recoup damages related to your actual monetary losses. In addition, you can win damages for mental anguish and emotional distress caused by the defamation.
If convicted of defamation, the defendant is charged with a first degree misdemeanor for which he or she must serve up to 1 year in jail. Florida is one of the only states for which defamation remains a crime. With that said, it is important to exercise caution and decorum on internet platforms, online and in writing.
Florida courts recognize a number of privileges and defenses in the context of defamation actions, including substantial truth, the opinion and fair comment privileges, the fair report privilege, and the wire service defense.
Under Florida law, slander is a spoken statement that is published to others and that tends to damage that person's reputation, ability to conduct that person's business or profession, and that holds that person to disgrace and humiliation.
What Is the Difference Between Libel and Slander? As we've discussed, libel is written defamation. Slander is spoken defamation. Courts typically consider libel to be more harmful than slander because written statements last longer than spoken statements and can be distributed more widely.
Internet defamation, also known as cyber slander, occurs when someone makes a false statement online that negatively impacts another person's reputation.
