Defamation: Types, Elements, and Defenses - Prof. G. Burnett, Study notes of Business and Labour Law

Download Defamation: Types, Elements, and Defenses - Prof. G. Burnett and more Study notes Business and Labour Law in PDF only on Docsity! DEFAMATION  Injury to a person’s reputation  Two kinds  Libel – which is written defamation  Slander – which is spoken defamation  Groups cannot be defamed even if slanderous statements are made about the group – e.g. ethnic or racial slurs  Corporations have a limited right to sue to protect their reputations for statements that cause persons not to do business with them.  Disparagement is tort that defames a company’s goods and services.  Slander of title – claiming a person’s title to his house is not good.  Damages presumed in libel cases unless the comment is not defamatory on its face.  Damages must be pled and proved in slander cases since slander is regarded as not being as serious as libel due to its spoken nature.  Slander per se is slander that does not deed proof of damages Slander per se  4 kinds of Slander per se  Attribution of a ‘loathsome’ disease to someone  Imputing unchastity to a female (but not a male)  Sometimes imputing serious sexual misconduct to anyone  Claiming one is guilty of a crime  Stating someone is professionally incompetent Public Figure  Someone who injects himself into a public controversy i.e. a politician, or  One who has a “pervasive notoriety or fame.” e. g. a celebrity/movie star/  This person deserves less protection because he has acted to put himself in the public eye. He wanted public attention and should not object if he gets it – even if it be unfavorable to him. Damages  General Damages – non-specific  Injury to reputation Mental suffering Hurt feelings Incapable of definite valuation  Special damages  Tangible losses to property, business, occupation resulting from the injury to the plaintiff’s reputation Torts to Property  Trespass to land  Trespass to Personal property  Conversion  Summary Table on page 129