In the actions mentioned in section 25-839 , the defendant may allege the truth of the matter charged as defamatory, prove the same and any mitigating circumstances to reduce the amount of damages, or prove either. The truth in itself and alone shall be a complete defense unless it shall be proved by the plaintiff that the publication was made with actual malice. Actual malice shall not be inferred or presumed from publication.
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-840
Libel or slander; truth as defense; effect of actual malice
Applied in 7 court decisions — leading case White v. Ardan, Inc. (1988)
Most recently applied in Choice Homes v. Donner (June 2022)
R.S.1867, Code § 132, p. 414; R.S.1913, § 7700; C.S.1922, § 8644; C.S.1929, § 20-840; R.S.1943, § 25-840; Laws 1957, c. 83, § 1, p. 329.
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Official source: Nebraska Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain Nebraska statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.