What is injurious falsehood in tort law?

The tort of injurious falsehood (also known as trade libel) consists of the malicious publication of a falsehood concerning the plaintiff that leads other persons to act in a manner that causes actual loss, damage, or expense to the plaintiff.

What are the elements of malicious falsehood?

The essential elements of a claim for malicious falsehood are:

the statement complained of was published about the claimant.
the statement complained of was untrue.
the statement was published maliciously (ie dishonestly)

Can you sue for injurious falsehood?

Malicious falsehood is defined as a false statement that is made maliciously (intentionally with knowledge of its falsehood, or with reckless disregard for the truth). When malicious falsehood occurs, it can give rise to a civil lawsuit for either libel or slander.

Is injurious falsehood the same as defamation?

Injurious falsehood and defamation are two different claims that you can bring to court. Defamation occurs when someone publishes false statements that harm your reputation. In comparison, injurious falsehood is when someone has published false statements maliciously which financially damage to you or your business.

How do you prove injurious falsehood?

In order to prove a prima facie case of injurious falsehood, the plaintiff must prove that:

The defendant intentionally made false statements disparaging the plaintiff’s property or business interests.
The statements were published to third persons.

What is product defamation?

A statement is defamatory if is harmful to the trading reputation of the company. An attack on the products or services of a company is only defamatory if it attacks the integrity, competence or other reputational value of the business. It is the overall effect of the statement that matters.

How do you prove malicious falsehood?

A typical situation in which a claim for malicious falsehood arises is where one competitor makes an untrue statement about another’s goods or services. A claimant needs to demonstrate that the defendant intended to publish the statements complained of and did so with improper motive or malice.

Can you sue for disparagement?

When a business becomes a victim of product disparagement, it can sue the competing entity under the federal Lanham Act, the federal trademark law, and state trade disparagement laws. A competitor posts negative statements or comments about another business in the media or on the Internet.

Is injurious falsehood a tort?

Injurious falsehood is a “tort,” or civil wrong, for which compensation may be available where a statement is made about a person’s or company’s business, which produces actual damage. It is not an action for defamation, although it shares some characteristics with defamation actions.

What is the difference between disparagement and defamation?

Defamation protects the personal reputation of the plaintiff, while business disparagement protects the economic interests of the plaintiff. The focus on telling the difference is determining what the statements were about.

What are malicious lies?

Malicious falsehood or injurious falsehood is a tort. It is a lie that was uttered with malice, that is, the utterer knew it was false or would cause damage or harm. Malicious falsehood is a false statement made maliciously that causes damage to the claimant.

What are the elements of an injurious falsehood?

In Mahon, Justice McCallum reiterated the four key elements required to succeed in an action for injurious falsehood: There must be a false statement of or concerning the plaintiff’s goods or business; The plaintiff must provide that there has been actual damage as a direct result of the statement.

Can a business bring a claim of injurious falsehood?

Where an individual business has suffered actual financial damage as a result of false statements, they may bring a claim of injurious falsehood. The key elements of injurious falsehood are that: you must show actual damage as a direct result of the statement. To bring a claim of injurious falsehood, the statement must be completely false.

How to prove a prima facie case of injurious falsehood?

In order to prove a prima facie case of injurious falsehood, the plaintiff must prove that: The plaintiff suffered “special damages”. Special damages are a legal term for actual economic damages

What is the difference between defamation and injurious falsehood?

Defamation occurs when someone publishes false statements that harm your reputation. In comparison, injurious falsehood is when someone has published false statements maliciously which financially damage to you or your business.

What is injurious falsehood in tort law? The tort of injurious falsehood (also known as trade libel) consists of the malicious publication of a falsehood concerning the plaintiff that leads other persons to act in a manner that causes actual loss, damage, or expense to the plaintiff. What are the elements of malicious falsehood? The…