Defamation Flashcards
What is slander?
Slander refers to publications in transient (temporary) form ie casual conversations.
What are the two torts of Defamation?
- Slander
2. Libel.
What is libel?
Libel refers to publications in a permanent form or that are broadcast on screen, on stage or on the airways.
When is there liability?
Slander gives rise to liability if it results in consequential loss (special damage)
Libel is actionable per se.
What was the decision in Monson v Tussauds?
Libels are normally in writing or printing but the defamation may also be conveyed in another permanent form ie a statue, caricature, an effigy, chalk marks on wall, signs, pictures…
What was the decision in Youssoupoff v MGM Pictures?
The film pictures were libel because it was a permanent matter to be seen by the eye. The speech was also libel as it was part of one complex
Who can sue?
- A natural living person
2. A company
Who cannot sue?
- A trade union
- A public/government body
- A political party.
What are the four questions necessary when deciding if there is a case in defamation?
- Is the statement defamatory?
- Does it refer to the claimant?
- Has it been ‘published’ to a third party?
- Are there any defenses?
What is defamation?
“Calculated to injure the reputation of another by exposing them to hatred, contempt or ridicule” Parmiter v Coupland
“Would the words tent to lower the plaintiff in the estimation of right-thinking members of society” Sim v Stretch per Lord Atkin
What is the case of Berkoff v Burchill?
The plaintiff actor said that an article by the defendant labelling him ugly was defamatory. The defendant denied that the words were defamatory.
Held: It is for the jury to decide in what context the words complained of were used and whether they were defamatory in those circumstances. An allegation that an actor was hideously ugly was capable of being defamatory of him on the grounds it exposed him to ridicule.
What is the case of Byrne v Dean?
The claimant was a member of a golf club, whose owners illegally
kept gambling machines on the premises. Someone reported them to the police and afterwards a poem was posted up in the club, implying that the claimant had been the informant. He sued, and won the original case, but on appeal the courts held that the suggestion was not defamatory, because a right-thinking member of society (or as it might be expressed today, an ordinary, reasonable person) would not think less well of someone for telling the police about a crime.
What is false innuendo?
Where the words bear a meaning that is not their literal meaning but instead constitutes an interference or implication from the words themselves.
What is true innuendo?
Wherever the claimant argues that facts or circumstances which are not apparent from the words themselves give those words a meaning they would not ordinarily have.
What is the case of E. Hulton and Co v Jones?
E. Hulton & Co. (Hulton) (defendant) operated a newspaper in England. Thomas Artemus Jones (Jones) (plaintiff) allegedly contributed signed articles to the paper. One day, Hulton ran an article by its Paris correspondent that mentioned a person named “Artemus Jones” and accused that person of cheating on his wife with another woman. Jones brought suit for defamation against Hulton. At trial, Hulton stated it had never heard of Jones and had used the name “Artemus Jones” as a fictitious name. Jones accepted this contention as true. However, he argued Hulton was still liable for defamation because it issued a statement that could be interpreted as true and harmful to Jones. In fact, Jones produced several witnesses who said they believed the article was referring to him. The jury granted Jones damages. The court of appeal affirmed, and on appeal, the House of Lords affirmed.
