Slander Definition

GLOSSARY

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What does Slander mean?

A defamatory statement made or conveyed by spoken words, sounds, looks, signs, gestures or in some other non-permanent form, and relating to someone other than the person to whom its relates.

At common law slander is actionable only on proof of special damage except where either (a) it involves a statement that the defendant is guilty of a criminal offence which is punishable by imprisonment; or (b) it involves an allegation of unchastity in a woman; or (c) it disparages the claimant in his office, profession, calling, trade or business.

General

A defamatory statement made or conveyed by spoken words, sounds, looks, signs, gestures or in some other non-permanent form, and relating to someone other than the person to whom its relates.

View the related practice notes about Slander

Defamation costs pilot scheme [Archived]

This Practice Note has been archived and is for historical purposes only. The defamation costs pilot scheme ended on 31 March 2013. For information on costs budgeting, see: Costs budgeting and costs management—overview.What is it?The Scheme requires parties in defamation proceedings (ie proceedings which include allegations of libel, slander and/or malicious falsehood) to provide the court with a detailed estimate of future base costs ('Costs Budget'). These Costs Budgets are required to be regularly updated by the parties and will then be either approved or disapproved by the court. In effect, they will set the marker for future costs recovery and the court will not depart from an approved Costs Budget without good reason. The purpose of the Scheme is to ensure that the court has sufficient costs information to manage the litigation so that the parties are on an equal footing and the costs incurred by the parties are proportionate to the value of the claim and the reputational issues (and, as from 1 October 2011, public interest issues)...

Preliminary issues and planning on takeover transactions

Preliminary issues and planning on takeover transactions Prior to an approach—offeree preparation This Practice Note is part of the Corporate toolkit for public company takeovers. There are a number of issues that the parties will need to consider in the preliminary/planning stage of any takeover. However, in the offeree's case there are also certain preparatory actions that it may take before any approach so as to be able to respond promptly and effectively to a potential bid. Internal organisation The offeree should have in place adequate systems and procedures so as to be able to respond promptly and effectively to any bid as and when it materialises. These include: • the creation, maintenance and updating of a defence manual (this is discussed in more detail in the defence tactics subphase of the toolkit that sits in the offer documentation phase) • the appointment of an internal team or committee to both monitor the market and deal initially with an approach or offer • ensuring that the ...

Discover our 38 Practice Notes on Slander

Defamation—training materials

Defamation—training materials These training materials consist of template PowerPoint slides that can be used as the basis of one or more training seminars on defamation law. The training materials reflect the requirements of the Defamation Act 2013 and topics covered include: the distinction between libel and slander; the elements of a defamation claim; damage to reputation and serious harm; publication; defences and remedies. It is anticipated that those providing training will use these slides as a helpful starting point for their presentations and then amend them accordingly to reflect their particular circumstances. The training materials may be customised. Click the link below to download the training presentation. Contents • What is defamation? • Distinction between libel and slander • Elements of a defamation claim • A defamatory statement • Damage to reputation and serious harm • The statement must refer to the claimant • What is publication and who is responsible? • Defences—truth • Defences—honest comment • Defences—absolute privilege • Defences—qualified privilege •...

Claim form (defamation)—the contents

Claim form (defamation)—the contents The purpose of the claim form The claim form is the document used to start proceedings. It contains information relevant to the proceedings including the court reference number to be used on all subsequent court documents, the parties to the proceedings, what is being claimed, particulars of the claim (including any claim for interest) and contact details for the claimant (generally the claimant’s solicitor). Guidance as to the contents of a claim form generally can be found in the Practice Note: Claim form—the contents. This Precedent provides an containing suggested text for use in relation to a claim for defamation. The form sets out guidance as to the specific points which should be taken into account when completing a claim form for use in such proceedings. This claim form forms part of a suite of Precedents, and should be read in conjunction with the following Precedents: • Particulars of claim (defamation) • Defence (defamation) • Reply (defamation) • Final Order (defamation) In particular,...

Dive into our 4 Precedents related to Slander

What are the risks of an organisation keeping an internal list of blacklisted companies and/or individuals with whom it does not wish to do business on the basis of information received from third parties or from its own research?

What are the risks of an organisation keeping an internal list of blacklisted companies and/or individuals with whom it does not wish to do business on the basis of information received from third parties or from its own research? In answering this Q&A, we have limited our research to cover data protection, defamation, restrictive agreements in competition law and the Employment Relations Act 1999 (Blacklists) Regulations 2010, SI 2010/493. In conducting our research we have assumed that the organisation is not a public authority or otherwise subject to any public procurement regime. Data protection If the information within the list relates to a living individual, the Data Protection Act 1998 (the DPA 1998) may apply. The DPA 1998, governs the processing of personal data in the UK and it obliges those handling such data to comply with eight data protection principles. For more information, see Practice Note: Data protection—background and key definitions and in particular the sections on Data, Personal data, Processing and Relevant filing system. If...

Is there a risk of a claim for defamation being made against a company as a result of statements made at a company meeting? What defences are available?

Is there a risk of a claim for defamation being made against a company as a result of statements made at a company meeting? What defences are available? This Q&A focusses on the situation where the statement made was oral. This considers libel and slander generally, rather than by reference to statements of a certain nature. The starting point is to determine the medium in which the statement was made or communicated. If the statement was spoken or oral, the correct cause of action would be slander. If the statement was written, the correct cause of action would be libel. At the outset, it should be noted that libel and slander proceedings are inherently fact sensitive, with liability hinging on the specific facts of the case. Under the common law, a statement was defamatory where it caused, or was likely to cause, a substantially adverse effect on the claimant’s reputation. However, section 1 of the Defamation Act 2013 (DA 2013) requires that a statement have caused,...

See the 11 Q&As about Slander

Employment weekly highlights—13 June 2024

This edition of Employment weekly highlights includes: (1) key employment and immigration announcements in the Conservative and Liberal Democrat manifestos, (2) an update on legislation relating to the Hague Judgments Convention, (3) an Institute of Directors consultation on a Code of Conduct for Directors, (4) an Upper Tribunal decision regarding employment status and IR35, (5) a claim in the High Court for personal injury based on the employer’s suspension and disciplinary process, (6) the Supreme Court’s judgment on the damages to be awarded in a malicious falsehood claim where there are no financial losses, (7) analysis of an EAT judgment about the settlement of future claims which endorses and follows the Court of Session’s decision in Bathgate, (8) dates for your diary, (9) updates to our case and consultation trackers and our horizon scanner, and (10) a new Q&A.

Simon Schofield awarded £90,000 in damages and an injunction in libel claim against online news website Politicalite (Schofield v Politicalite Ltd and another)

TMT analysis: This judgment addresses remedies following the granting of judgment in default to Simon Schofield, the award-winning theatrical producer, actor and creative director, against Politicalite Ltd, the publisher of an influential online news publication ‘Politicalite’. The article was published by Politicalite in September 2022 and written by Jordan Kendall (its Editor in Chief and the second defendant in the claim) with the headline ‘EXCLUSIVE: Phillip Schofield and best pal Simon “groomed” [X], claim Telly insiders’. X was a student of a theatre company run by Simon Schofield. Despite sharing the same name, Simon Schofield is no relation of Phillip Schofield, but the two are old friends. The judgment addresses the conduct of the defendant and the remedies that the court may consider appropriate to award in certain cases. It is an important reminder to individuals that pre-action correspondence can be disclosed before the court and, if it is demonstrative of a particular type of conduct (here, at times, malicious and threatening) that will be taken into account in the...

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