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.
Application for a summons DC-430 File with a verified complaint to request the court to issue a summons if you do not have an attorney. All papers to be filed in a court proceeding are to be mailed to the Suffolk County Clerk, Attn: Court Actions, 310 Center Drive, Riverhead, New York 11901. Q.The court has placed the most commonly used forms on line as a resource. Please be advised that the forms detailed below are intended to be a guide. Under New York defamation law, speech that is used to unjustly harm another person's reputation is not protected. Learn more here from Mullen Law Firm. This form is fillable. It must be opened in Adobe Acrobat in order for all the date functions to work properly. Select the correct filing code for your document from the dropdown menu and fill in the required fields highlighted in red. The forms listed below are used in civil and criminal cases in the Superior Court.