DEFAMATION, INVASION OF PRIVACY, & OTHER ECONOMIC/DIGNITARY HARMS

Private Nuisance – General Rule

A private nuisance is a substantial, unreasonable interference with another private individual’s use or enjoyment of property that the other individual actually possesses or has a right of immediate possession

Private Nuisance – Substantial Interference

Substantial interference is interference that is offensive, inconvenient, or annoying to the average person in the community

Private Nuisance – Does hypersensitivity or specialized use of property count as substantial interference?

NO

Private Nuisance – Does routine and relatively innocuous activity count as substantial interference?

NO

Private Nuisance – Unreasonable Interference

To establish unreasonable interference the severity of the inflicted injury must outweigh the utility of the defendant’s conduct

Can a claim for private nuisance be based on trespass by intangible forces?

YES

Public Nuisance – General Rule

Public nuisance is an act that unreasonably interferes with the health, safety, or property rights of the community

Public Nuisance – Recovery

Recovery by a private party is available for a public nuisance only if the private party suffered unique damage not suffered by the public at large

Private Nuisance – Abatement by Self-Help

In the case of a private nuisance, self-help abatement is available after notice to the defendant and their refusal to act, and only necessary force may be used

Public Nuisance – Abatement by Self-Help

In public nuisance cases, only a public authority or a private party who has suffered some unique damage can seek an injunction or abatement

Is contributory negligence a defense to nuisance?

NO

Defamation – Elements

(1) A defamatory statement that specifically identifies the plaintiff, (2) published to a third party, (3) falsity of the defamatory language, (4) fault on the part of the defendant, and (5) damage to the plaintiff’s reputation

Defamation – Defamatory Statement

A defamatory statement is one tending to adversely affect one’s reputation

Defamatory Statement – Opinions

A statement of opinion is actionable only if it appears to be based on specific facts, and an express allegation of those facts would be defamatory

Is name-calling a sufficient defamatory statement?

NO

Is defamation of a deceased person actionable?

NO

Defamatory Statement – Inducement and Innuendo

If the statement is not defamatory on its face, the plaintiff may plead additional facts as inducement to establish defamatory meaning by innuendo

Defamation – Colloquium

If the statement does not refer to the plaintiff on its face, extrinsic evidence may be offered to establish that the statement refers to the plaintiff

Group Defamation

(1) If the defamatory statement refers to all members of a small group, each member may establish that the statement specifically identifies them by alleging they are a group member, (2) If the statement only refers to some members of a small group, the plaintiff can recover if a reasonable person would view the statement as referring to the plaintiff, and (3) If the statement is about a large group, no member can prove that the statement specifically identifies them

What is the requisite intent for defamation?

Intent to publish

Is there a defamation claim if the statement is made only to the plaintiff?

NO