Libel

Libel

When involved in the running or managing of a business, one must always be mindful of the mistakes and wrongdoing that could possibly occur, and how the business will ultimately be affected. There are two areas of the law which deal with these types of problems, consisting of tort and criminal law. A tort is a civil wrong, which does not arise from a contract, and involves injuries to particular persons or property, whereas a crime is considered a public wrong, which is punishable by the state.

In tort law, there are three different kinds of torts, including intentional, negligent, and strict liability. An intentional tort requires that the defendant meant to do a certain action, but not necessarily to harm a person or thing. Negligence is a situation in which harm is caused by accident, and strict liability is where harm is done, but one is responsible without proof of carelessness or blame. In tort cases, the injured party can seek compensatory damages, which could be medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, and more. An injured party might also seek punitive damages, which are designed to punish the person at fault or prevent the same thing from happening again.

There are many different areas of intentional torts that can arise from an act of intent. Some of these torts committed against a person are battery, assault, false imprisonment, fraud, defamation, and others. Some of the intentional torts committed against property are trespass to real property, trespass to personal property, conversion, and nuisance.

Defamation is defined as discrediting a person's reputation by oral or written publication. Slander is the spoken form of the tort, and libel is defamation in print or some other...

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...ired to show malice, I'm not sure if B&W will be able to win the lawsuit. It will be a challenge to find proof that Disney had knowledge of the falsehood of the information and/or had reckless disregard for the truth. A spokesperson for Disney claims that, "The film itself never suggests who might have been behind the threats." It was also made known that Wigand actually reported finding the bullet and note, but and FBI agent suggested that it may have been put there by Wigand instead.

I think it's hard to know what the outcome of a lawsuit would be without knowing all of the facts, because either company could be withholding information at this time, so as not to put the other company at an advantage. It will be interesting to see if anything develops further, and whether or not Brown & Williamson actually file the suit, or possibly settle outside of court.