"ShlupQuack is a whore" and other statements that will cost me money
by
, 07-09-2012 at 02:04 AM (2669 Views)
Everyone knows what slander is, right? A defamatory statement that is spoken. Well generally to recover any damages for a slander lawsuit, a plaintiff has to show actual (or special) damages, meaning a measurable economic harm, such as being fired from a job. General, presumed damages for loss of reputation are not available except for the very worst kind of slander, that does the very most kind of harm. This is called slander per se.
What are the types of slander per se, you may ask? Well, the type of statements that do the most harm to a person, as you would expect: that directly relate to the plaintiff's professional ability in his or her trade; that assert that the plaintiff suffers from a particularly horrible disease; that assert that the plaintiff is guilty of a crime of "moral turpitude" (as in, not a traffic violation); or... wait a sec, "imputing unchaste behavior if the plaintiff is a woman"? What the smurf?
That's right. One of the very worst things you could ever possibly say, up there with accusing someone of murder or of having the plague, is saying that a woman is not the demure, innocent, ladylike person that she obviously is. We must award such a woman for the irreparable damage done to her reputation that must be protected at all cost. What dastardly person could ever do such a horrible thing to a poor, innocent woman incapable of defending herself in the public sphere full of people that might think that the woman may have -- gasp! -- slept with someone outside of marriage! The horror! I would expect a woman to faint at the mere thought.
I have no idea if slander per se has actually been followed recently in this context, but it is still the recognized law in the majority of states (it even showed up in a practice bar exam question!). The very fact that it was taken seriously enough to be put into my torts outline at all is rather worrisome.