Defamation - Guest Post by Gigi King

People can cause harm to someone’s reputation, this is a tort, and it is called Defamation. There are two types of defamation, one is called Libel and the other is called Slander.

If the statement is written it is called Libel, if the statement is spoken, it is called slander. A person can be injured causing damage to his/her reputation and can sue for damages under the theory of defamation.

When suing someone the burden is on the plaintiff, the person suing, to show proof such as:

1. The person who made the statement was in fact the real person.
2. The person actually published the statement
3. Damage occurred to the Plaintiff’s reputation
4. The person did not have consent
5. The statement was a lie

In 1735 in the Zenger case, John Zenger published a weekly newspaper article that was critical of an appointed New York mayor, the governor had Zenger arrested and tried for seditious libel. At that time, Congress had passed the Sedition Act of 1798 which made it a crime to criticize the government. Congress and the Courts eventually dismissed the act and now focus on recovering damages in civil cases.

There is a thin line between Defamation and freedom of speech; people are free talk about whatever they choose to as long as it is truthful. Actually damage has to be shown in order to sue for damages. (Ex: you lost your job; you got kicked out of a club or an association or your community).

Actual malice has to be proven but for public officials, celebrities and movie stars, because they could only win a defamation suit if the statement was published with actual intent to harm the public figure or celebrity; the person knew at the time the statement was made, it was a lie, and did not care. This exposed the person to ridicule, loss of friends, created a negative smear on the plaintiff’s character, you must also have the libel or slander documents or audio file.

Any damage to a person’s reputation can cause mental anguish, emotional distress and cause financial hardship as well. They say sticks and stones may break your bones, but words can actually hurt you. In Florida the statute of limitation for a person to file suit is two years.

There are categories of untrue statements which are presumed to be harmful a person’s reputation they are:

1. The person was involved in a crime
2. The person has a contagious disease
3. The person was involved in a sexual act of some form: child molestation, rape, kidnapping, gay, etc.
4. The person is engaged in illegal or unfair business practices.
5. The person abuses drugs and alcohol

General damages can be awarded for past and future harm, mental and emotional anguish, personal humiliation; special damages can be awarded for economic loss of employment, punitive damages can be awarded when the defendant’s actions were willful or maliciously.

If the defendant can prove the statement was in fact true an action for defamation cannot survive.

Sources Cited

www.wikipedia.org