A neighbor called Child Protective Services and made numerous false allegations regarding my child’s safety and well be...
Full Question:
Answer:
A form of publication which tends to cause one to lose the esteem of the community is defamation. This is injury to reputation. A person is liable for the defamation of another. In order to prove defamation, the plaintiff must prove:
1) that a statement was made about the plaintiff’s reputation, honesty or integrity
that is not true; 2) publication to a third party (i.e., another person hears or reads
the statement; and 3) the plaintiff suffers damages as a result of the
statement.
Slander is a form of defamation that consists of making false oral
statements about a person which would damage that person's reputation. If I
spread a rumor that my neighbor has been in jail and this is not true, I could be
held liable for slander. Defamation which occurs by written statements is known
as libel. Libel also may result from a picture or visual representa¬tion. Truth is an
absolute defense to slander or libel.
