Principle: Defamation requires a false statement published to a third party that lowers the plaintiff's reputation in the eyes of right-thinking members of society.
Facts: In a closed-door one-on-one meeting, employer A tells employee B: 'You are a thief and stole petty cash.' No one else hears or reads this accusation. Can B successfully sue A for civil defamation?
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. No, because the statement was not communicated or published to any third party
- Step 1: In tort law, an essential ingredient of civil defamation is publication, meaning the defamatory matter must be communicated to at least one third party other than the person defamed.
- Step 2: Employer A made the accusation exclusively to employee B during a private, closed-door one-on-one meeting. Because no third party heard, read, or became aware of the allegation, no legal publication occurred.
- Step 3: Consequently, an action for civil defamation cannot be maintained.
Answer
No, because the statement was not communicated or published to any third party.
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