To plead a claim of defamation, the plaintiff must satisfy the following elements: “a false statement, published without privilege or authorization to a third party, constituting fault as judged by, at a minimum, a negligence standard, and it must either cause special harm or constitute defamation per se.”1 There are ...
The plaintiff bears the burden of proving that the harmful statements are false. By examining whether the defendant's statement would have an effect different from a proposed statement by the plaintiff, courts test whether a statement is false.
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.
Slander can be hard to prove, as the complainant must show the slanderer was driven by malice and knew their claims were false. Slander is different from libel, which are false statements made through print or broadcast.
Libel: Libel is a defamation that is written, such as in a newspaper, magazine or on the internet. Slander: Slander is a defamation that is orally published, such as in a speech, over the airwaves, or in casual conversation.
In general, a plaintiff who files a lawsuit asserting that a statement you published is defamatory must show that you: published the statement, meaning that it was read or viewed by at least one other person besides the plaintiff. identified the plaintiff. harmed the plaintiff's reputation.
The plaintiff bears the burden of proving that the harmful statements are false. By examining whether the defendant's statement would have an effect different from a proposed statement by the plaintiff, courts test whether a statement is false.