Defamation of Character: Was Absolute Privilege or Qualified Privilege Involved?

With recent media events focusing upon the issues involving defamation of character, courts across the United States have experienced a rise in these types of cases with more and more of the general population seeking damages. If you are accusing an individual of defamation of your character, it is important to understand not only the four elements of defamation that must be proven, but also be prepared for the defenses that may be used to dismiss your case.

Defamation of character is considered an intentional tort that is often dismissed by a court of law based on your failure to comply with statute of limitations and based on the courts findings that the statement made about you was an absolute or qualified privilege of the person who made it. These bases for dismissal are in addition to the potential for dismissal for failing to meet the "four elements" of defamation required to support a cause of action.

In terms of statute of limitations, most states require that you bring suit against the accused within one year of the date the public statement was made. Because defamation can occur in any form of medium, including text, cartoon or oral statement, your suit must be filed with the court within one year from the date the statement was made public. In addition, if the statement made about you was considered, in any part, to be a true statement, the court may dismiss your case.

If you've filed your action of defamation with the court within one year of the date on which the false statement was made public, the next hurdle to overcome will involve the issues of absolute privilege or qualified privilege. Simply put, absolute privilege means that certain individuals or entities that make statements that may be perceived as defamatory are not subject to any type of litigation as this would be against public policy. In other words, even if the defamation of character is proven, these individuals are protected from all liability and therefore no damages can be recovered. Such groups include those involved in judicial proceedings, those involved in legislative branches or proceedings, and those involved in executive communications from state or federal organizations.

Qualified privilege, also known as conditional privilege, is an additional defense that may be used to dismiss your allegation of defamation. Essentially, this type of defamation is permitted when the comments are made with the intent to protect the accused's own reputation or to protect a duty they may have to speak out. Often, we see this type of dismissal and defense used in cases where a company may speak negatively of a prior employee, so as to protect future employers from hiring the individual. While there may be some element of defamation, the entitlement of the prior employer to speak in a defamatory way may protect them from liability under a "qualified privilege".

Defamation of character suits have become increasingly more popular in recent years. For many individuals, the defamation of character lawsuit is dismissed due to the variety of obstacles that must be met to proof the case. If you are considering a defamation of character case, be certain you are familiar with these various elements, including the defenses that may be used by the accused, as they may prove your efforts to be fruitless.