Defamation

Defamation is the publishing of false material about someone which results in the damaging of that person’s reputation. Anyone who has had damaging material published about them can commence legal proceedings against the publishing author. If you are the subject of a defamatory publication, you can commence proceedings to seek an injunction to stop that material from published and damages to compensate you for you’re the damage to the material.

The most common defence to a defamation case, however, is truth. So before thinking about commencing proceedings for defamation, it is an essential ingredient to your case that the published material is untrue. There are a number of other defences to defamation including honest opinion and innocent dissemination.

For defamation to have occurred, it is also essential that the defamatory material is “published”. Traditionally, this would occur through print or television media by large corporations, however, in today’s electronic society, material can be published much more easily by individuals and defamation can even occur on social media platforms.

The law of defamation is complex and requires expert analysis, so if you think you have been defamed, or someone is alleging that you have defamed them, contact Johnsons Law Group.