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.
Defamation Without Naming In Queens
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Multi-State
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Queens
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US-00423BG
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FAQ
The courts have held in previous cases that it is defamatory to publish an allegation that a person is a hypocrite but each case is decided on its own facts and Mr Brand must satisfy the court that the allegation has caused serious harm to his reputation.
The false statement must also be a “statement of fact”—a merely unflattering or critical opinion is protected under freedom of speech. That means that someone saying they think you are a or liar isn't defamation, even if it changes the way other people see you.
It is critically important to recognize that Falsely Reporting an Incident can either be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony. As such, it is punishable by up to one year in jail and as much as up to seven years in state prison.
In the context of racism allegations, courts consider several factors to determine whether an accusation crosses the line from protected opinion to actionable defamation: Falsity: The statement must be demonstrably untrue. Opinions, however offensive, are not defamatory.
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.
Statements imputing a crime to another are defamatory, as are statements imputing adultery or extramarital sexual relations.
False statements or lies told about a person to damage their reputation are actionable under the New York tort of defamation. Defamation occurs when a person makes a false statement about another person and harms their reputation by exposing them to ridicule, mocking, scorn, disgrace, shame, pity, contempt, or anger.
A slander of title will generally occur where one maliciously seeks to disparage another's interest to property, to make it unmerchantable, by recording an instru- ment whereby the maligner purports to have some interest in the property.
In New York, defamation is a civil matter. A person who suffers financial or emotional damages following another person's false statement may choose to sue the offender, which would bring about a case in the appropriate New York court.
