In the business world, your reputation often carries as much value as your tangible property, client lists, or intellectual property.

Unfortunately, that means that a single false statement can significantly damage long-standing relationships and undermine the credibility you have worked so hard to establish. Under Georgia law, defamation refers to a written (libel) or spoken (slander) falsehood. When defamation results in damage to your reputation, disruption of a business relationship, or interference with your economic interests, it may be legally actionable. To help you better protect your business and avoid exposure to liability, the business law attorneys at Thrift McLemore provide a comprehensive overview of defamation law in Georgia and how it applies in real-world business and employment contexts.

Georgia Defamation Law

Defamation falls under the area of the law referred to as “torts,” which allows an individual or entity to pursue compensation in civil court for injury to their person or property. Georgia law recognizes both libel and slander as actionable defamation claims.

Libel is defined under Georgia law as “a false and malicious defamation of another, expressed in print, writing, pictures, or signs, tending to injure the reputation of the person and exposing him to public hatred, contempt, or ridicule.” In the modern business environment, libel is likely to arise in emails, online reviews, social media posts, internal memoranda, or published marketing materials.

Slander, often referred to as “oral defamation,” may consist of the following under Georgia law:

• Imputing to another a crime punishable by law.
• Charging a person with having some contagious disorder or with being guilty of some debasing act which may exclude him from society.
• Making charges against another in reference to his trade, office, or profession, calculated to injure him therein.
• Uttering any disparaging words productive of special damage which flows naturally therefrom.

In the business context, slander can occur during negotiations, reference checks, or informal discussions, situations where a false statement can negatively influence decision-making.

Defamation in Practice

If you are a business owner, it is crucial to have a firm understanding of the law of defamation, both to protect your business from losses caused by defamatory statements aimed at you or your business and to avoid liability for making defamatory statements.

In business relationships, defamation often occurs when a former partner, vendor or competitor communicates false information about you or your business to current or prospective clients, customers, or business associates, causing harm to the business relationship you have (or might have) with them.

Employers must also be careful to avoid running afoul of the Georgia defamation laws when providing performance reviews or references to other employers. Making a false statement to a prospective employer about a current or former employee could subject you to a defamation claim if that statement interferes with the employee’s eligibility for employment.

Defamation Damages

To successfully pursue a claim for defamation in Georgia, a Plaintiff must prove the following three elements:

• That a false statement was made about your business or you as an individual.
• That the statement was communicated to a third party.
• That the statement caused measurable harm.

The third element, however, is not necessary if the statement qualifies as defamatory per se. Accusing someone of a crime, charging a person with having a contagious, loathsome disease, and making statements that injure a person in their trade, office, or profession are considered defamatory per se, meaning that damages are presumed, and you do not need to prove a specific economic loss.

Damages in a defamation case may include both economic and non-economic losses. For example, in the context of a business setting, you may be entitled to compensation for lost profits, diminished goodwill, and harm to professional reputation in a successful defamation lawsuit.

Defenses to Defamation

If you are facing an accusation of defamation, it is helpful to remember that there are defenses that may apply, such as:

• Truth: Truth is an absolute defense to claims of defamation because one of the elements of a defamation claim is that the statement was false. As such, it does not matter if the statement damaged a business relationship or caused measurable harm. If the statement is true, it is not defamatory.
• Opinion: Generally, an opinion does not qualify as defamation as long as the opinion does not refer to, or imply, underlying false facts.
• Privilege: Statements made in good faith during the performance of a public or legal duty, or to protect one’s own interest, or in furtherance of the right to free speech are not defamation.
• No Dissemination: For a statement to be actionable as defamation, it must be disseminated to a third party. In other words, if someone makes a false statement about you to you alone, it is not defamation.
• Retraction: Retracting a defamatory statement does not act as a complete defense, but it can act as a mitigating factor that reduces or eliminates damages.

Georgia State of Limitations for Defamation

State law determines the applicable statute of limitation for tort claims. A statute of limitations sets the amount of time that an injured party has to initiate legal action against a defendant for injuries to their person or property. In Georgia, the statute of limitations in one year from the date the statement was published. This relatively short time frame increases the importance of consulting with an experienced defamation attorney at Thrift McLemore if you believe you are the victim of defamation.