Defamation

To prove defamation in California, you must establish four elements:

• That someone made a false statement of purported “fact” about you:
• That the statement was made (“published”) to a third party;
• That the person who made the statement did so negligently, recklessly, or intentionally; and,
• That as a result of the statement, your reputation was damaged.

California law recognizes two types of defamation: libel and slander. The main difference is whether a statement was made verbally (slander) or in writing (libel).

There are numerous defenses available in a California defamation case. Some common defenses include:

• The defendant’s statement was true;
• The statement wasn’t published;
• The statement was privileged;
• The statement wasn’t made negligently or with malice; and/or,
• The defendant never said anything negative about the plaintiff.

An experienced California defamation attorney can advise you on which, if any, defenses might apply to your defamation suit.

If a plaintiff is successful in his or her defamation case, that party may recover damages.

In general, a plaintiff may be awarded three types of damages. These include:

• General damages, which are damages for the plaintiff’s loss of reputation, shame, and hurt feelings;
• Special damages, which are damages to the plaintiff’s property, trade, profession or occupation; or,
• Punitive damages, which are damages awarded in the discretion of the court or the jury, to be recovered in addition to general and special damages, and to be awarded for the sake of example and by way of punishing a defendant.

The specific type(s) of damages a plaintiff may be awarded will most likely depend on the facts and circumstances of a given case.

We invite you to contact us at Made Law Group.