What are the elements of a defamation claim?

Defamation law in Washington requires that all plaintiffs prove four elements in order to make a successful claim. The first element is that the statement was false. A statement is only considered defamatory if it is not true. This means that even if a statement is highly insulting, it still isn’t defamatory if it’s true. The second element is that the statement was published. Publishing a statement means that it was shared with a third party. That third party can be a person or a group of people. The third element is that the statement caused harm to the plaintiff’s reputation. This harm can be anything from the plaintiff losing their job, to family and friends no longer associating with them, to the statements causing emotional distress. The fourth and final element is that the plaintiff can prove they were the person defamed by the statement. This means that the person targeted or referred to in the statement is the plaintiff. If all four of these elements are proven, the plaintiff can make a successful claim for defamation in Washington.

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What are the elements of a defamation claim?

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