Malicious falsehood?

Nolanger

Will some legal head here please tell me what 'malicious falsehood' is? What's the difference between this and slander? Is it against the law? Any famous Irish cases?

Wolfe Tone

Slander and libel have been combined in the 2009 defamation act and are now referred to as the single tort of defamation.

"Defamation is the wrongful publication of a false statement which tends to lower that person in the eyes of right thinking members of society or tends to hold them up to hatred, ridicule or contempt or cause them to be shunned by right thinking members of society"- Walsh J.

My understanding is that "malicious falsehood", aka Injurious falsehood differs from defamation as the lie told may not cast the plaintiff in a bad light like a defamatory statement, but it still causes loss to him. Essentially it is a lie that will cause damage to the plaintiff and the intent is malicious.

A hypothetical example could be me telling people that my business competitor is going to change profession soon, doing so maliciously so as to trick people into not giving him business as they think he will be ceasing to trade.


I think I have that right, someone will correct me I am sure.

Tom Young

The new Act codifies the quotation above, see Definitions.

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2009/en/act/pub/0031/sec0042.html#sec42

Section 42: Malicious Falsehood:

42.— (1) In an action for slander of title, slander of goods or other malicious falsehood, the plaintiff shall be required to prove that the statement upon which the action is founded—

(a) was untrue,

(b) was published maliciously, and

(c) referred to the plaintiff, his or her property or his or her office, profession, calling, trade or business.

(2) In an action for slander of title, slander of goods or other malicious falsehood, the plaintiff shall be required to prove—

(a) special damage, or

(b) that the publication of the statement was calculated to cause and was likely to cause financial loss to the plaintiff in respect of his or her property or his or her office, profession, calling, trade or business.

Tom

Wolfe Tone

Tom Young wrote: »

The new Act codifies the quotation above, see Definitions.

"defamatory statement” means a statement that tends to injure a person’s reputation in the eyes of reasonable members of society, and “defamatory” shall be construed accordingly"