DEFAMATION (ALSO LIBEL, SLANDER)

Examples

Example AGAINST defamation: Famous case: Larry Flint, the owner of Hustler, published a parody ad saying that Jerry Falwell lost his virginity to his cousin in an outhouse. The court ruled that this was free speech and NOT defamation because no one would genuinely believe it to be true. Because no one could believe it, it couldn’t cause Falwell any damage.

Definition

(1) Defendant made a false statement (2) About the Plaintiff (3) A Third Party (4) Either knowing the statement was false or with recklessness towards its falsehood (5) causing damage

Comments

The statement must ACTUALLY be false. Truth is an absolute bar to defamation cases. Opinions, speculation, "puffery", are NOT false statements. Spreading lies MUST be to a third party, either personally or to the public writ large. EXCEPTION: For public figures, the speaker must have made the statement with malice – not merely ignorance, but for the purpose of causing harm. Also, a statement is not defamation if it is so obviously false and ridiculous that no one believes it.