<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, Verdana">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by shoe:
I am a house wife...have not worked in a few years due to an accident that I had. I hope to in the near future go back to my job that I once worked as being a home day care provider. Provided that I am released by doctors to do so.
I recently had a disagreement with a neighbor. I believe the reason that she is doing what she is doing now is to try to "trash" my name. She is sending email to people. Making false statements about my husband and I. What concerns me most is the fact that she states that we disapline our children by hitting them...which is false. Could very well destroy my reputation of being a registered home day care provider. Not to mention the many other false statements that she made. What also concerns me is if I have proof of this in my hand...How many others has she emailed this information to?
Is this considered defamation of character? I am in the state of Pa. I am very upset about this whole mess and would like some information.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
My response:
In Pennsylvania, libel is the publication of a false statement which injures a person's business or personal reputation. In order to be libelous, a statement must meet these conditions:
There must be some negligence on the part of the writer. It must be defamatory (false and injurious to the plaintiff's reputation)
It must be published (distributed to someone other than the plaintiff and defendant) The plaintiff must be identifiable to the reader. It is not privileged communication*
*Privileged communication includes statements made in judicial proceedings, legislative proceedings, and private communications between you and your spouse.
Burden of Proof (42 Pa. C.S.A. § 8343)
In a libel case, the plaintiff has the burden of proving the following:
1. The defamatory character of the communication.
2. Its publication by the defendant.
3. Its application to the plaintiff.
4. The understanding by the recipient of its defamatory meaning.
5. The understanding by the recipient of it as intended to be applied to the plaintiff.
6. Special harm resulting to the plaintiff because of its publication.
7. Abuse of a conditionally privileged occasion.
The defendant must prove the following:
1. The truth of the defamatory communication.
2. The privileged character of the occasion on which it was published.
3. The character of the subject matter of defamatory comment as of public concern.
Malice or negligence necessary to support award of damages (42 Pa. C.S.A. § 8344)
In a libel action, no damages may be recovered unless it has been established that the publication has been maliciously or negligently made. When malice or negligence appears, the jury may award damages as they deem proper.
Red Flag Words
A
addict
adulteration of products
adultery
alcoholic
atheist
B
bad moral character
bankrupt
bigamist
blacklisted
blackmail
booze-hound
bribery
brothel
buys votes
G
gambling den
gangster
gay
graft
groveling office seeker
H
herpes
hit-man
hypocrite
I
illegitimate
illicit relation
incompetent
informer
insider trading
intemperate
intimate
intolerance
J
Jekyll-Hyde personality
K
kept woman
Ku Klux Klan
M
mafia
mental illness
mobster
moral delinquency
mouthpiece
N
Nazi
P
paramour
peeping Tom
perjurer
plagiarist
pockets public funds
profiteering
prostitute
S
scam
scandalmonger
scoundrel
seducer
sharpdealing
shyster
slacker
smooth and tricky
smuggler
sneaky
sold influence
sold out
spy
stool pigeon
stuffed the ballot box
suicide
swindle
T
thief
U
unethical
unmarried mother
unprofessional
unsound mind
unworthy of credit
V
vice den
villain
Any words or expressions imputing:
a) a loathsome disease;
b) a crime, or words falsely charging arrest, or indictment for or confession or conviction of a crime;
c) anti-Semitism or other religious, racial or ethnic intolerance;
d) connivance or association with criminals;
e) financial embarrassment (or any implication of insolvency or want of credit);
f) lying;
g) membership in an organization which may be in disrepute at a given period of time;
poverty or squalor;
h) unwillingness to pay a debt.
Good luck.
IAAL
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