In a defamation case, can the defendant not prove statement to be true and still win the case? A male celebrity has said to a tabloid newspaper he slept with a female celebrity when they worked in a production few years ago. The female celeb is now suing him for defamation as she says that this is false; she never slept with him. If the male celebrity decided to say he can't remember the specifics for example where and when this alleged encounter happened, is that enough of a defence for the male celebrity or does he have to provide specifics of encounter to win this case.
There are a variety of reasons someone might not win a defamation case, some of which are defenses, and others of which are part of the basic prima facie case that every person pursing a claim must establish. The exact details vary significantly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. The statute of limitations for bringing suit based upon the alleged statement has passed. Many jurisdictions have especially short statutes of limitations for defamation claims. For example, in Colorado, the statute of limitations for a defamation claim is just one year, while other civil claims have two to six year statutes of limitations. The quoted statement isn't actually what was said. The statement is not defamatory in nature (i.e. it doesn't tend to harm the Plaintiff's reputation). The Plaintiff's reputation is so bad that no further statement could harm it. The court lacks jurisdiction over the claim or the case is filed in the wrong venue. The statement was substantially true. Note that this is not a defense to all types of claims called defamation in all jurisdictions. Some jurisdictions prohibit certain kinds of inflammatory negative statements (e.g. about religious figures, monarchs, dead people, family members, or disabled people) without regard to their truth, in causes of action that are seen as a subset of defamation actions. For example, Germany's criminal defamation statute prohibits some kinds of speech that would be considered insulting or &quot;fighting words&quot;, effectively imposing a standing of civility in every day contexts, that applies without regard to truth. U.S. law carefully distinguishes between remedies for fraudulent lies about someone, statements that are objectionable because they implicate privacy concerns, statements that are objectionable because a person has a contractual or particularized legal duty not to say negative things about a particular individual, and statements that are disrespectful and disorderly, but not all jurisdictions draw these careful and fine lines. In context, the statement could not reasonably have been understood to be true as opposed to puffing, hyperbole, or an opinion. Failure to prove damages in jurisdictions where this is required on claims where it is required (proof of damages is not required for libel or slander per se in some jurisdictions). Some jurisdictions allow only economic damages, others allow emotional harm damages, others allow punitive damages, some allow statutory damages, and some allow some but not all of these kinds of damages. The statement is privileged or subject to a qualified privilege (e.g. statements made to law enforcement investigators, by attorneys in litigation, in court documents, by legislators in legislative debate, etc.) The statement was false but believed in good faith and with a reasonable basis to be true at the time, and at the time of the litigation, the person making the statement acknowledges its inaccuracies or a sense in which a statement meant as true could be misunderstood. Some jurisdictions make retraction of full defense or a partial defense. Some jurisdictions even make a request for a retraction a condition precedent to bringing a defamation lawsuit in some circumstances. The person bringing the lawsuit doesn't meet their burden of proof at trial. Usually, the burden of proof is on the person making the claim, but truth is sometimes considered an affirmative defense which some jurisdictions place on the defendant to prove. The burden of proof could be quite relevant to the answer. Ultimately, if truth is an issue in a case, the finder of fact (jury or judge depending upon the jurisdiction and whether a jury is demanded) would have to decide what evidence is sufficient. There is no black and white rule that applies.
It's no fantastic legal source, and rules may vary in different countries, but from the Wikipedia article on Attorney client privilege: Lawyers may also breach the duty where they are defending themselves against disciplinary or legal proceedings. A client who initiates proceedings against a lawyer effectively waives rights to confidentiality. This is justified on grounds of procedural fairness—a lawyer unable to reveal information relating to the retainer would be unable to defend themselves against such action. In other words, if the client's lie is related to one of the lawyer's interests (for example, if the client sues the attorney for malpractice based on the advice he was given), the lawyer can break privilege on his own behalf, thus testifying that his client lied. As to the specific case you brought up, I would say that privilege wouldn't protect the client from the lawyer discussing things never brought up. In other words, we could force the attorney to testify, since one of two things is true: The attorney really did give him that advice, in which case the client has already voluntarily given up his right to confidentiality by describing what was said between them, or The lawyer never gave him that advice, and privilege wouldn't protect a conversation between the two that never transpired.
There is no requirement to interview the victim and/or the suspect prior to filing charges. Often statements are taken from the parties involved/witnesses by police and presented to the District Attorney's office as evidence. However charges can be filed without either party being interviewed, especially by the DA. This can often be the case in things like domestic violence cases, where the victim refuses to cooperate and the perpetrator refuses to talk (&quot;lawyer up&quot; or invoke 5th amendment rights). Charges can be filed based on circumstantial evidence of the crime (in the example, marks on the fist of the perpetrator and injuries to the victim, along with proximity). The police will try to interview the suspect and/or victim, but usually the prosecutor does not get involved at this point until charges are filed and the defendant has retained a lawyer (or declined one).
Yes, quite a number of times, for example, Daniel FETLER v. HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 1966. Rodney Smolla, a leading scholar on defamation, said: When an author wants to draw from a real person as the basis for a fictional character, there are two relatively "safe" courses of action from a legal perspective: First, the author may make little or no attempt to disguise the character, but refrain from any defamatory and false embellishments on the character's conduct or personality; second, the author may engage in creative embellishments that reflect negatively on the character's reputation, but make substantial efforts to disguise the character . . . to avoid identification. When an author takes a middle ground, however, neither adhering perfectly to the person's attributes and behavior nor engaging in elaborate disguise, there is a threat of defamation liability. Quoted from http://www.rightsofwriters.com/2010/12/could-i-be-liable-for-libel-in-fiction.html What you are doing is definitely defamation; an untrue statement that may damage a brand or person. Coca-cola was effectively cocaine free after 1904, therefore linking it to a boom in cocaine consumption in the 1930s (if that actually occurred) is ridiculously unlikely, especially since, in 1904 Coca-cola was, at best, a regional not a national brand. The Coca-cola company may not care as it is about events eight decades ago but that is not something I would count on. The bigger the brand, the more defensive its owner tends to be and they don't come any bigger than Coca-cola. They have a strong track record for pursuing defamation cases.
The people on the show would be considered public figures, so if there was information that the fictitious writing was actually based on/about them, defamation must be proven to a different standard for public figures. Public figures, including officeholders and candidates, actors or musicians successful enough to be held in "the public eye," have to show that the defamation was made with malicious intent, which is a greater burden than defamation for the average person. Also, damages may be limited to actual (special) damages unless there is actual malice. Special damages being lost income or some other quantifiable measure of loss. If one cannot tell who it (the fictional story) is about because the name is changed, then Fox, or whomever, couldn't sue anyway because they need standing, which they wouldn't have if you called the person X, unless the story was so exact that it is obvious who you are talking about. For instance, the show Law and Order is often based on famous stories in the news, or criminal cases they dig up. Those fictional story lines often add or delete details. The case may be more or less damaging to the actual person it was based on. However, they make a statement before the show airs that says something like "Any similarity to real people or events is strictly coincidental. This show is not based on any real person or event, but is a work of fiction." If I were going to make a fictional account of a big network show, I would use some sort of disclosure like that to be safe. That said, if the statements or storyline is less damaging than the facts themselves, as revealed on the show, it isn't defamatory at all: Defamation necessarily must include the act of making untrue statements about another that damage their reputation. If it doesn't damage their "good character or reputation," than it's not defamatory. Keep in mind, however, that what you may consider less or more damaging may not be the same view held by the person it's loosely based on. That is why I'd use the disclosure. As to the question "would it protect you against a lawsuit?", if you mean would it protect you from being sued, the answer is always, anyone can sue file a lawsuit. That doesn't mean they'll win but it still means you have to defend. It may likely protect you in your defense.
If an AI chatbot such as Bing Chat or ChatGPT said factually untrue things that did measurable harm to a real person's reputation, would that person have a case against the company that owns the chatbot for defamation? There can be liability for defamation, although the circumstances would determine who the liable party is. For instance, an owner's warning to the user about a risk of inaccuracies may have the effect of shifting to the user the issue of requisite degree of fault. See In re Lipsky, 460 S.W.3d 579, 593 (2015). The user ought to be judicious as to whether to publish the chatbot's output. Ordinarily, negligence suffices for liability in a scenario that involves special damages, i.e., concrete, ascertainable harm. My understanding is that a key part of defamation is malicious intent, which does not really apply to a non-sentient piece of software. Under defamation law, malice is not about feelings or emotional state. The term refers to reckless disregard for the truth or falsity or the statement or to publication despite publisher's awareness of the falsity of the satement. Id at 593. Regardless, malice needs to be proved only if the plaintiff is a public figure or in claims of defamaton per se, where damage to a person's reputation is presumed (and hence the damage does not need to be proved). What if the company was aware of the harm being done but chose not to take action? The terms of use might protect the company against liability. Absent any such protections, the company might be liable because its awareness and inaction are tantamount to the aforementioned reckless disregard for the truth of its product's publications.
The fuller statement is reckless disregard for the truth or falsity of the statement. The reckless disregard for truth element in defamation claims requires a plaintiff to show that the defendant had serious doubts about the accuracy of the material. St. Amant v. Thompson, 390 U.S. 727 (1968). A summary of the holding of this U.S. Supreme Court case explains its holding: Recklessness requires a higher level of proof than ordinary negligence, so the reasonable-care standard is not appropriate. The defendant cannot avoid liability by testifying that he had a subjective belief that the statements were true. Instead, the jury must find through its consideration of all of the relevant evidence that the statements had been made in good faith. There was no evidence in this situation that St. Amant had entertained serious doubts about the veracity of Albin's accusations. The absence of an effort to check their facts did not rise to the level of actionable conduct. This decision clarified the requirement of malice in defamation lawsuits regarding matters of public concern. It does not mean ill will but rather knowledge of the information's falsity or reckless disregard of the truth. This means that if you just make something negative up without having any idea whether it is true or not, you can be guilty of defamation if it turns out to be false under U.S. law. But, reliance on a third-party whom you believe to have a basis for their allegations and republishing the third-party's claim is not reckless disregard for the truth if you have any reason to believe that the third-party is credible. One doesn't have to have personal knowledge of the facts. One can also have a reasonable factual basis for having a belief without knowing for sure that something is true from evidence that would be admissible in court or would definitely prove the allegation. For example, if the chess player's moves were atypical of that chess player's previous plays and showed insights that player had not shown before, that would provide a basis for the statement that would overcome a reckless disregard claim.
Here's the thing: if the plaintiff/appellant/claimant are the same legal entity as the defendant/respondent, it's plain to see that one of them must lose. For instance, consider a case where two trains operated by the same corporation collide. Assuming that the drivers both performed their duties, the company is vicariously liable &ndash; such a case is frivolous and is likely to be thrown out for that reason. It's just a waste of time and money. Or your second example: If the woman was driving the city vehicle and crashed it in the course of her duties, it is the city that will be the defendant in the proceedings, not the woman. So essentially: while it's difficult to prove that something has never happened, these are good reasons to expect it would not happen.