Defamation and Invasion of Privacy

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Defamation and Invasion of Privacy

• Anglo-American Law 2003

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Components of a Defamation Claim Part I

• Defamatory Statement A statement is defamatory
  if it tends to damage a persons reputation. The
  statement must be an assertion of fact, not an
  opinion.
• Publication The plaintiff must prove that the
  defendant communicated that statement to someone
  other than the plaintiff. Publication is using
  any means of communication (speech, email,
  pictures) to convey the defamatory message to
  another person.

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Components of a Defamation Claim Part 2

• Fault There must be some fault on the
  defendants part. He must have been at least
  negligent as to whether the things he said about
  the plaintiff were true or not.
• Special harm Depending on the nature of the
  defamatory statement, a plaintiff may need to
  show special harm (financial damage) from the
  statement.

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Defamation Distinguishing Between Libel
Slander 1

• Libel is the term for defamatory statements that
  are published by written or printer matter, or
  which are published in any physical form.
• Plaintiff need not prove actual harm to
  reputation special damages
• Slander is the term for defamatory statements
  that are communicated orally.
• Plaintiff must generally prove special damages.

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Defamation Distinguishing Between Libel
Slander 2

• Plaintiff must prove slander damages reputation,
  unless slander per se
• Plaintiff has committed crime.
• Plaintiff has a loathsome disease, esp. a
  sexually-transmitted one.
• Slanderous statement harms the plaintiffs
  business or trade (e.g. Mr. Jackson cheats the
  customers who shop at his store.)
• Plaintiff accused of serious sexual misconduct.

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Invasion of Privacy 1

• Key distinction between Defamation and Invasion
  of Privacy Statement must be a false statement
  of fact to be defamatory. But true statements
  can be actionable as Invasion of Privacy.
• Main Categories of Invasion of Privacy
• Misappropriation of Identity The defendant uses
  the plaintiffs picture or name (usually to sell
  a consumer product) without the plaintiffs
  consent.
• Intrusion into his solitude or seclusion
  Plaintiff can sue if the defendant has intruded
  into her private physical space (usually her
  home) in a manner that would be highly offensive
  to a reasonable person.

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Invasion of Privacy 2

• Publicity of Private Life Plaintiff can sue if
  the defendant has publicized private details of
  his personal life in a way that would be highly
  offensive to a reasonable person.
• False Light Invasion of Privacy Plaintiff can
  sue if he is placed before the public eye in a
  false light, and if the way in which he is
  portrayed would be highly offensive to a
  reasonable person.

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Constitutional Limitations

• Public figures (i.e. those who have

9
Cox Broadcasting v. Cohn

• Context whats the standard for truthful
  publication re non-public figure?
• Press necessary conduit of information
• Name of rape victim already public
• Judicial proceedings always of public interest
• Constitutional privilege upheld in this case
• What if no name in court records?
• What if name had been kept private by Court,
  obtained falsely?

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Gertz v. Robert Welch

• Nature of allegations
• Was gertz a public figure/was trial public event
  trial court said no libel per se 50,000K
  damages
• Why are public figures given less protection
• Availability of self-help.
• Inevitability of false statements.