Defamation of character can be a challenging allegation to proof in a court of law. If you’ve been accused of defamation of character, it is important to know if the accusation involves that of slander or libel, and what the difference between these two allegations may be.
To be guilty of defamation of character, a court must find that you have met the four elements of defamation. These four elements are considered the inclusion of defamation which compromises an “intentional tort”. Once the elements of defamation of character are met, it is from this point that your case will evolve into either libel, slander, or both.
When addressing libel and slander, the basic difference lies in the method by which your defamatory statement was made public with libel generally considered the type of defamation that is placed into print or any other form of written text. While you may be inclined to think of libel as a delivery by written letter, e-mail or by fax, it can also constitute movies, pictures and even cartoons or caricatures. For this reason, if you are an artist or storyteller, it is important to know how your words or expressions of work may evolve into allegations of libel.
By contrast, slander involves the oral or spoken expression of defamation. When making oral statements or expressing opinions, defamation by slander can lead to complications involving not only the words you speak, but can also encompass any other form of body language. Essentially, the courts will consider defamation by slander to be any form of expressing defamation when that expression does not fall into a case of libel.
If you’ve been accused of defamation, the issues of libel and slander are important as these will determine the types of damages your accuser may be able to recover from you. As a general rule, the damages for defamation, by either libel or slander, can include both actual damages as well as special damages. Special damages are slightly more limited in that they involve pecuniary damages such as loss of wages or the inability of a person to obtain work while actual damages are more encompassing, including those that involve monetary value to reputation, mental anguish and even the extent of humiliation.
To even reach the issues of damages, libel and slander, your accuser must first proof up the first charge of defamation. To do this, the four elements of defamation must be met and this is often where many cases of defamation are dismissed. When visiting with your defense attorney, be certain you understand these three components of your case as this will enable to you to capture the full picture of the defense and the approach to mitigating your damages.
