DEFAMATION Learning Target and Agenda You will be

DEFAMATION

Learning Target and Agenda: ■ You will be able to define and explain what defamation is and what the plaintiff must prove in order for the lawsuit to be successful. ■ You will determine if various political cartoons are examples of defamation or not. 1. Finish Negligence Case studies and review as a class 2. Defamation Notes: Last formal notes of the semester!!!! 3. Political Cartoon Exercise

Exam Outline

Defamation ■ Injury to a person’s reputation or good name by slander or libel. ■ Celebrities are the most common target for defamation and take the most legal action in order to protect themselves. – Unfounded Accusations – Cause injury to a person’s fame – Reputation – Character

Defamatio n Slander Libel

Slander ■ A defaming oral statement or gesture. ■ The plaintiff must establish that: – the statements were made to someone other than the plaintiff – that these statements referred to the plaintiff – That they would lower the plaintiff’s reputation in the eyes of a ‘reasonable person’ If you are the only one who heard a nasty comment made about you then it is not slander. If someone overheard the comment then it is considered ‘published’

But…… ■ Even if you establish that someone made a defamatory comment you must show special or actual damages such as loss of income. ■ This can be difficult to prove. ■ Mere loss of friendship is not considered grounds for action.

Libel ■ Defamation in a permanent form, such as written or recorded statements. – Drawings, cartoons, carvings, articles etc. ■ Civil courts consider libel to be much more serious than slander. – More widespread ■ The court presumes that your reputation has been injured as long as the libel is proven. You do not have to prove any special or actual damages.

Libel ■ It is possible that the defendant in a defamation action did not intend to defame the plaintiff. – Nevertheless that person is still responsible for any damage caused. (performing a public service)

Defences to Defamation: ■ Truth: the comments alleged to be defamatory are verified and established facts. ■ Fair Comment: the comments were honest and made without malice. – Ex. Restaurant Reviews, Musical Reviews, entitled to opinion without malice – They must reflect an honestly held opnion, not one that is motivated by spite, ill will, a desire to harm, or any other improper purpose. ■ Absolute Privilege: protection from liability for statements made in Parliament, in a legislature or a courtroom, at a military hearing, or before a tribunal.

Examples of Defamation 1. A newspaper knowingly prints an article falsely asserting that a public figure has cheated on business partners in the past. While the law protects media outlets from liability for printing statements about public figures, this does not apply to knowing publication of false material or publication with reckless disregard for the truth. 2. A person falsely tells a prospective buyer of the home of a neighbor that the neighbor cheated him in the past, causing the buyer to back out of the sale. Although this is not defamation per se, the neighbor can prove economic damages by showing that the statement prevented the sale of his house. 3. During a casual conversation with a reporter, a police official states that a suspect in a current investigation is guilty. While there are privileges that protect government officials from defamation liability for official statements and documents, this does not apply to casual or unapproved statements.

Celebrity Defamation Cases Jesse Ventura In his autobiographical book “American Sniper, ” former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle described a 2006 incident in which he punched out an unidentified man at a bar who had said that the Navy SEALs “deserve to lose a few, ” i. e. , die. He said in a 2012 interview with Bill O’Reilly that the subject of his fisticuffs was former actor, wrestler and Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura, who filed a defamation suit against Kyle that year. Kyle was murdered in February 2013 at a Texas shooting range, but Ventura would not be deterred. He made Tara Kyle, the widow of Chris Kyle and executor of his estate, the new target of his lawsuit. He won in July 2014, walking away with $1. 8 million, but Tara Kyle is currently appealing the verdict, and Ventura filed another suit against her in June for “Other Statutory Actions. ”

Celebrity Defamation Cases Courtney Love The relationship between singer/musician Courtney Love and Twitter has been rocky. Her former attorney Rhonda Holmes filed an $8 million civil suit after the musician sent a June 2010 tweet that said the lawyer “was bought off. ” Love, describing herself as a “computer retard, ” said that she thought she was sending a private, direct message, not a tweet, and quickly deleted it. The suit became the first Twitter libel case to go to trial, gaining the nickname “Twibel. ” Love won the case, but the lost a defamation suit brought against her by designer Dawn Simorangkir. She sued Love over comments Love made on “The Howard Stern Show, ” accusing Simorangkir of stealing from her. Love settled in August 2015 to the tune of $350, 000. This doesn’t count the $430, 000 that she paid to resolve a previous lawsuit, also brought by Simorangkir, after Love went on Twitter to accuse the designer of selling drugs and engaging in prostitution, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Celebrity Defamation Cases Katie Holmes On the cover of the January 2011 edition of Star magazine, a delectably scandalous headline ran: “Addiction Nightmare. Katie Drug Shocker!” The Katie in question was actress Katie Holmes, and the actual article inside the magazine made no mention or allegation of drug use whatsoever. Holmes filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit against the publication. According to Reuters, Star magazine caved immediately and settled out of court for an undisclosed amount and published an apology. Less successful was the defamation suit brought by Tom Cruise. In October 2012, as he and Holmes were divorcing, he filed his own $50 million defamation suit against Bauer Media Group, the publisher of Life & Style, which had stated on its cover that he had “abandoned” their daughter Suri, and hadn’t seen her in 44 days. However, Cruise said in his deposition that he hadn’t actually seen Suri in 110 days, and the case was settled out of court on undisclosed terms.

FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND DEFAMATION

Freedom of Speech and Defamation PARODY AND SATIRE’S LEGAL CONTEXT : Without Malice ■ Satirical news may just be news with a mocking point of view, but arguably satirical news is a live-action adaption of the editorial cartoon form. In a 1980 defamation case, Chief Justice Nemetz of the British Columbia Court of Appeal approvingly characterized a cartoon as “pictorial parody” using “caricature, analogy and ludicrous juxtaposition [that] sharpens the public view of a contemporary event” in a way that is “normally humorous but may be positively savage”. To a greater or lesser extent, the law in Canada has recognized the inherent fairness of categorizing editorial cartoons as things not to be interpreted literally, even when at its most vicious, and satirical news programs are a part of that tradition.

Jian Ghomeshi files $55 M lawsuit against CBC The former host of Q alleges that the public broadcaster has defamed him and breached his trust. ■ Jian Ghomeshi is suing the CBC, his former employer of 13 years, for defamation, breach of confidence and punitive damages, after he was allegedly fired over concerns about “possible negative public perception” of his sex life, according to a $55 -million lawsuit filed at 4 p. m. Monday. ■ Ghomeshi, 47, was fired Sunday after the public broadcaster said it recently received information it says “precludes” it from continuing to employ the host of the popular Q radio show. Jian Ghomeshi drops lawsuit against CBC

Defamation Assignment ■ Page 407 Case Study ■ Page 408 Ques 2 -6 ■ Page 410 Ques 10