Submitted by dt (not verified) on Fri, 04/06/2012 - 3:01pm.
I am not a lawyer, but: What Dr. Hill and Ms. Darrell said was not slanderous under North Carolina law. Why? Because a) what they said could be documented (ie, it's true) and b) even if it weren't true, they believed it was true. In other words, they did not promote an intentional lie in order to destroy Titan's reputation. Frankly, Titan does a fine job of that all by itself.
Here's the relevant bit from the Citizen's Media Law Project:
"In North Carolina, a private figure plaintiff bringing a defamation lawsuit must prove that the defendant was at least negligent with respect to the truth or falsity of the allegedly defamatory statements. Public officials, all-purpose public figures, and limited-purpose public figures must prove that the defendant acted with actual malice, i.e., knowing that the statements were false or recklessly disregarding their falsity."
And in response to one of the commenters above, no, most businesses would NOT react this way, because they know they'd lose, both in legal court and the court of public opinion. And governments certainly would not, because they're required to uphold the First Amendment.
Disparaging Hill or Darrell in these comments, however, could qualify as defamation. So be nice.
it's not slander
I am not a lawyer, but: What Dr. Hill and Ms. Darrell said was not slanderous under North Carolina law. Why? Because a) what they said could be documented (ie, it's true) and b) even if it weren't true, they believed it was true. In other words, they did not promote an intentional lie in order to destroy Titan's reputation. Frankly, Titan does a fine job of that all by itself.
Here's the relevant bit from the Citizen's Media Law Project:
"In North Carolina, a private figure plaintiff bringing a defamation lawsuit must prove that the defendant was at least negligent with respect to the truth or falsity of the allegedly defamatory statements. Public officials, all-purpose public figures, and limited-purpose public figures must prove that the defendant acted with actual malice, i.e., knowing that the statements were false or recklessly disregarding their falsity."
http://www.citmedialaw.org/legal-guide/north-carolina-defamation-law
And in response to one of the commenters above, no, most businesses would NOT react this way, because they know they'd lose, both in legal court and the court of public opinion. And governments certainly would not, because they're required to uphold the First Amendment.
Disparaging Hill or Darrell in these comments, however, could qualify as defamation. So be nice.
dt