Slander
Dictionary of Terms and Phrases Used in American or English Jurisprudence · Benjamin Vaughan Abbott · 1879
Dictionary of Terms and Phrases Used in American or English Jurisprudence
Aspersion by word of mouth; oral defamation; words uttered falsely and maliciously, by which the reputation of another is injured. The kinds of slander which may be the subject of an action for damages are the following: 1. Words falsely spoken of a person, which impute to him the commission of some criminal oilence involving moral turpitude, for which the party, it the charge is true, may be indicted and punished.
2.
Words falsely spoken of a person, which impute that he is infected with some contagious disease, where, it the charge were true, it would exclude the party from society.
3.
Words falsely spoken of a person, which impute to him unfitness to perform the duties of an office or employment of profit, or the want of integrity in the discharge of the duties of such an office or employment.
4.
Words falsely spoken of a person, which prejudice him in his profession or trade.
5.
Defamatoiy words falsely spoken of a person, which, though not in themselves actionable, occasion him special damage.
Po Uard v. Lyon, 91 U. S. 225.
Slander of title. This is a statement of something tending to cut down the extent of title to some estate vested in the plaintiff. Such statement, in order to be actionable, must be false and malicious; i.e., both untrue and done on purpose to injure the plaintiff. Damage must also have resulted from the statement.
Brown.