Conn. Civ. Jury Instr. 3.11-6

We have a statute in Connecticut which imposes some limits on the damages a plaintiff may

recover in a libel case.

This statute gives the defendant the opportunity to publish a retraction of the writing that the

plaintiff claims was libelous. If the defendant properly retracts the libel, the plaintiff's recovery

is limited to those actual damages that (he/she) has specifically alleged and then proven.

You must find that four things happened before you may find that the defendant made a proper

retraction:

1. the plaintiff made a written demand for a retraction;

2. the defendant published the retraction in as public a way as the original,

allegedly libelous writing;

3. the retraction is sufficient to refute the original writing; and

4. the retraction was published within a reasonable time after the demand from

the plaintiff.

If you find that the defendant has proven all four elements of a proper retraction, the plaintiff

may only recover his special damages, which I will explain to you shortly.