General Principles of Defamation 1 Interaction 1

General Principles of Defamation 1 Self-Quiz 1

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Bill is the owner of a small computer company. Steve is the owner of another small computer company that is in competition with Bill. Both Bill and Steve are applying to the same bank for a business loan that they will use to expand their businesses. The bank can only afford to give one of them the loan. The bank decides to meet with Bill and Steve together and then decide who to give the loan to. At the meeting, the bank decides to give Bill the loan and Bill excuses himself to go call his partner Paul and tell him the news. While Bill is out of the room, Steve tells the bank officials that Bill is a corrupt businessman who has no intention of repaying the loan. Steve is lying but the bank does not know this. As a result, the bank refuses to give Bill the loan. If Bill sues Steve for defamation, he will be able to establish a prima facie case:

Bill is the owner of a small computer company. Steve is the owner of another small computer company that is in competition with Bill. Both Bill and Steve are applying to the same bank for a business loan that they will use to expand their businesses. The bank can only afford to give one of them the loan. The bank decides to meet with Bill and Steve together and then decide who to give the loan to. At the meeting, the bank decides to give Bill the loan and Bill excuses himself to go call his partner Paul and tell him the news. While Bill is out of the room, Steve points to the chair Bill was sitting in, rolls his eyes and shakes his head. As a result, the bank refuses to give Bill the loan. If Bill sues Steve for defamation, he will lose because Steve never actually says anything:

Ed, an American, is married to Selma, who is from Spain. Ed speaks no Spanish. Norton, who is in love with Selma, writes a letter to Ed falsely accusing Ed of cheating on Selma and asking how Ed could do something like that to his wife. Norton writes the letter in Spanish, even though he knows that Ed doesn’t speak Spanish. When Ed receives the letter, he gives it to Selma so that she can translate it for him. When Selma reads the letter, she is so enraged that she throws Ed out of the house and divorces him. If Ed sues Norton for defamation, he will probably:

Ivan is a very successful stock broker who has made a lot of money for himself and his company. Michael, Ivan’s boss, is jealous of Ivan’s success and decides to get rid of Ivan. Michael makes up a story about Ivan taking advantage of inside information to make illegal stock trades and then fires Ivan, saying that he will not tolerate illegal activity at his firm. Ivan begins to look for a new job but each perspective employer asks why he was fired from his previous job and Ivan is forced to repeat Michael’s accusations to them. No other firms are willing to hire Ivan when they hear the story. If Ivan sues Michael for defamation, he will win:

David has just published a book in which he details life as an employee of a popular New York company. In the book, David claims that some of his co-workers, Bernie and Roger in particular, are drug users who have come to work high on several occasions. Opie and Anthony, two New York radio personalities, read certain passages of the book on their popular morning radio talk show. The passages they read are particularly embarrassing to Roger and Bernie. If Roger and Bernie sue Opie and Anthony for defamation, they will probably:

David is an employee of a popular New York company. One night, David is having dinner with Opie and Anthony, two close friends of his who have a popular morning radio talk show. Over drinks, David tells Opie and Anthony that some of his co-workers, Bernie and Roger in particular, are drug users who have come to work high on several occasions. David does not particularly like Bernie or Roger and he is pretty sure that Opie and Anthony will bring up this bit of gossip on their talk show. They do. One of Opie and Anthony’s fans, George, also happens to be Roger and Bernie’s boss and, when he hears the accusation, he fires Bernie and Roger immediately. If Roger and Bernie sue David for what Opie and Anthony said, they will probably:

David is an employee of a popular New York company. One night, David is having dinner with Opie and Anthony, two close friends of his. David tells them that some of his co-workers, Bernie and Roger in particular, are drug users who have come to work high on several occasions. Unfortunately for David, Bernie happens to be sitting at the next table and hears everything David says about him. Bernie gets up to argue with David and the two begin fighting. David ends up suing Bernie for assault. At the trial, which is televised, Opie is called as a witness and, when he is asked why Bernie was so angry with David, Opie repeats the accusation that David made about Bernie. George, Bernie’s boss, is watching the trial on television and, when he hears Opie’s testimony, he fires Bernie immediately. If Bernie sues Opie for repeating David’s defamatory statements, he will probably recover:

Michael Barnes and Chuck Noble open a bookstore in downtown Boston. One of the books that they place on their bestseller list is a book written by David, an employee of a popular New York company. Neither Barnes nor Noble know anything about the book, other than that it is selling very well. In the book, David claims that some of his co-workers, Bernie and Roger in particular, are drug users who have come to work high on several occasions. Neither Barnes nor Noble have read David’s book and have no idea that it contains material that defames Bernie and Roger. If Bernie and Roger sue Barnes and Noble for disseminating defamatory material about them, they will probably: