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🎧 EPISODE SUMMARY 🎧

Defamation protects reputation. A typical claim requires a defamatory statement concerning the plaintiff, publication to a third person, the required fault, and damages where necessary. Constitutional law may add falsity, public-concern, public-figure, and actual-malice requirements.

Truth is generally a complete defense. Substantial truth is sufficient. Pure opinion is generally protected, but statements framed as opinion may remain actionable when they imply undisclosed defamatory facts.

Public officials and public figures generally must prove constitutional actual malice: knowledge of falsity or reckless disregard for truth. Private plaintiffs ordinarily receive a lower constitutional fault threshold.

Absolute and qualified privileges may protect defamatory communications. Qualified privilege may be lost through abuse, improper purpose, excessive publication, or fault concerning truth.

Traditional privacy law includes appropriation, intrusion upon seclusion, public disclosure of private facts, and false light. Each protects a different privacy interest.

Fraudulent misrepresentation protects against intentional economic deception. Negligent misrepresentation protects a more limited class of persons who reasonably rely on business or professional information supplied without reasonable care.

Intentional interference with contract protects existing contractual relationships. Interference with prospective economic advantage protects expected future relationships but often requires more clearly improper conduct because competition is generally privileged.

Private nuisance protects use and enjoyment of land against substantial and unreasonable interference. Public nuisance concerns unreasonable interference with public rights and ordinarily requires special injury before a private person may sue individually.

Compensatory damages seek to make the plaintiff whole. Nominal damages vindicate certain rights even without substantial injury. Punitive damages punish especially blameworthy conduct. Injunctions prevent continuing or threatened tortious conduct when monetary damages are inadequate.

A complete Torts examination analysis should proceed through plaintiffs and defendants, intentional torts, privileges, negligence, special negligence doctrines, defenses and allocation, strict liability, products liability, other torts, derivative liability, and remedies.

The key lesson for Sunday is organizational. Torts contains many doctrines, but a complicated problem becomes manageable when every relationship is analyzed separately and every fact is assigned to the doctrinal category it actually tests.

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