Understanding Defamation

Recently there was a Patch story submitted whose story line was basically an accusation of either miss use of or the theft of funds from a private organization.  The story actually named the accused person.  By the way, the organization deals in no public or tax payer funds. But the author demanded all files be turned over to him as to prove his point and accusations.  The holder of these files is under no legal oblgation to do so but through the story line failure to do so proves his point of guilt.  The old "dammed if you do - dammed if you don't" anagoly.  This was nothing more than a fishing trip for political purpose hoping to swing votes away from the administration.

I commented to the author that he was riding a slippery slope as to civil libel charges. He indicated he wasn't.  So to him and any future writer of a story that is accusatory in nature, naming individual(s) as to doing something wrong or illegal and those accusation can't be back up with facts under the control of the author, I did a little research as to Ct's defamation laws.  These laws are in place to prevent injury to one's reputation, esteem, respect and or goodwill due to false statements.

The following was taken from two CT legal sources, the Kelly Law Firm and the law offices of Shipman, Stokesbury & Fingold.

So what is defamation?  Black's Law Dictionary defines such as an "intentional, unprivileged, false communication, either published or pubically spoken, that injures another's reputation or good name".  It's a civil violation as found in CT tort law and has atwo year statute if limitation.  There are two forms of defamation, libel being in written form and slander having been spoken.  Both dewcribe as knowingly making untrue statements tending to diminish the esteem, respect, goodwill of confidence in which the defamed person is held, or to excite adverse, derogatory, or unpleasant feelings or opinion.

To establish a claim of defamation one must show:  The statement(s) made are false. Made willfully, recklessly or negliegently.  The statement(s) must have been published or communicated to a third party.  The statement(s) must identify the defamed party.  As a result of these statements a person must have suffered damage to their reputation due to the false statements.

So, to you future authors wishing to attack someone, be very carefull, you may just find yourself falling down that slippery slope of defamation of character.