In message
<[log in to unmask]>, at
16:17:14 on Tue, 23 Aug 2005, "Lewis, Chris G." <[log in to unmask]>
writes
>I had thought that one of the elements of "defamation" was that the
>defamatory statement was "published", and that in order to be considered
>"published" it had to reac a sufficient audience to cause the complainant
>damage. If I say to my friend "person X is a lying scumbag", and neither
>of us ever speak of it again except to tell person X, in private, that
>such a thing was said, there is no damage done to person X or their
>reputation, and so nothing actionable has occurred. Which seems to be
>analagous to what is going on here.
Spoken words (unless broadcast on TV or radio) are not "published". They
can only be slander, which is generally futile to pursue. However, a
written libel can be published if read by only one person. But damages
will reflect how widespread a libel was, and how successfully it was
withdrawn after a complaint.
--
Roland Perry
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