Defamation of Character in Texas Law Overview

Unless you have spent most of your years living as a hermit in the woods, chances are someone has said something insulting about you with or without your knowledge. While this is part of being human, if not kept in check, these rude remarks can turn into legal defamation of character and deal more serious damage. They can disrupt someone’s personal life and professional life and even ruin a business.

To avoid these problems, or at least reduce the damage, you might want to fight back. So, if you’re wondering whether you’ve been a victim of defamation of character or if you simply want to find out more about the subject, continue reading to define defamation of character, consider different types of defamation, learn about relevant Texas law, and determine how to restore and protect your reputation.

According to defamation Texas law, defamation of character is when an individual or a company masks false statements as facts about another individual or company in an attempt to ruin their reputation and otherwise cause serious damage. 

For instance, if someone spreads a rumor about how corrupt a company owner is, that will seriously damage a company’s reputation and can result in reduced productivity, even if the rumor has no basis in reality.

Since defamation of character Texas is considered a civil lawsuit, a victim has the right to sue the defamer for any financial injury but can’t appeal to the court to penalize the defendant with fines or prison time. A successful case of suing for defamation of character in Texas typically requires the victim to prove that the statements were indeed false, injurious, unprivileged, and, depending on the circumstances, negligent or intentional. There are two types of defamatory statements: libel and slander.

Also known as written defamation, libel is a written and published defamatory statement that’s usually distributed through social media posts, blog articles, and reviews but also through books, magazines, newspapers, or other written media.

Slander, or spoken defamation, is a defamatory statement that is spoken by the defamer on mass audio-visual media, such as radio, television, and the Internet. However, Texas slander laws also include any transitory type of communication.

In the case of a defamation lawsuit Texas, the burden of proof is typically on the plaintiff to prove that the defendant who is accused of defamation of character made false statements about the plaintiff to a third party in any form and, as a result, damaged the reputation of the plaintiff.

Also, it must be determined whether the defamatory statement was made out of actual malice or through negligence, which will later affect the judgment and the amount of monetary compensation if the case is won. To do this in Texas, the plaintiff must present the jury with the proof that:

What differentiates Texas defamation per se and defamation per quod is simply how the ordinary citizen comprehends the statements that are deemed defamatory by the plaintiff. If a person made statements that the average citizen would interpret as ill-mannered and damaging to another person’s reputation, then it is considered defamation per se. 

Since these statements are actionable on their own, according to Texas defamation of character laws, the malevolence and the damage done don’t have to be proven unless the plaintiff is considered to be a public figure.

Defamation per se statements typically fall into one or more of the following categories:

Conversely, Texas defamation law for defamation per quod requires the plaintiff to prove malicious intent and the damage done by the defendant who is accused of defamation. 

For instance, rather than stating outright that “the company is run by a pervert,” if a person makes vague or seemingly innocent statements like “don’t do business with the company; the owner likes to have his side dishes young,” this would be considered defamation per quod. Notably, defamation per quod cases can be challenging to prove, especially when quantifying the harm done to the plaintiff’s reputation.

In the context of defamation of character Texas punishment, it's important to note that defamation is primarily considered a civil offense and not a criminal one. Hence, while it can lead to significant monetary damages if the plaintiff wins the lawsuit, it typically does not result in jail time for the defendant. 

That being said, while defamation itself does not carry jail penalties, related actions such as threats or harassment could potentially lead to criminal charges under different laws. 

Since the civil court system in Texas is composed of county courts, the victim of defamation will have to determine which county is the correct jurisdiction to file the case. While the plaintiff chooses where the case will be filed and heard, the defendant has the right to challenge that choice if he or she can prove that the plaintiff’s chosen venue may be improper.

In most cases, a defamation in Texas can be filed in the following counties: 

For defamation to be proven, the plaintiff must provide the following:

If, however, an alleged defamatory statement is determined to be true — no matter how damaging, cold-hearted, or ill-mannered the statement was — according to the slander laws in Texas, the plaintiff will lose their civil lawsuits defamation of character.

Moreover, in a defamation case, a cease and desist letter can be a valuable document. It formally requests the offending party to halt their defamatory remarks and serves as evidence of your actions to stop the defamation if legal proceedings ensue.

According to the defamation laws in Texas, before beginning a libel or slander lawsuit, the victim must prove that they have suffered some sort of damage as a consequence of an allegedly defamatory statement. Texas defamation damages are traditionally measured in a monetary value that can act as compensation for the victim’s financial harm if the victim wins the lawsuit.

There are several types of defamation damages that fall into the following categories:

Presenting a character reference letter for court can potentially strengthen your case. This letter, usually written by a respected member of the community who knows you well, can help establish your good reputation. It could serve as additional evidence to challenge the alleged defamatory statement, supporting your claim for damages.

If you’ve been a victim of defamation, you have no more than one year to file a character defamation lawsuit in Texas. The clock starts as soon as a defamatory statement is created, with or without the victim’s knowledge. 

Even if a defamatory statement is later republished, there is no way to reset the one-year clock, particularly if the subsequent publications were made using the same medium. Since there is a risk of the statute of limitations running out and of losing an opportunity to ask the court for compensation for damages suffered based on the defamation, it is critical to act quickly. 

If you believe you’ve been a victim of defamation, don’t waste any time. You may save yourself a lot of stress and headaches if you contact a defamation attorney and seek legal advice from a reliable legaltech ecosystem, Lawrina, right away. 

Unfortunately, fake stories travel faster than true stories, and the damage they can do to an individual’s or business’s reputation sometimes can’t be undone.