DE · jury_instructions
Del. P.J.I. Civ. § 11.7
Defamation – Public Figure Plaintiff
ELEMENTS OF DEFAMATION – PUBLIC-FIGURE PLAINTIFF
To prove defamation, [plaintiff’s name] must prove:
(1) [defendant’s name] made a defamatory statement;
(2) concerning [plaintiff’s name];
(3) the statement was published;
(4) a third party would understand the character of the communication as
defamatory;
(5) the statement was false [or not substantially true];
(6) [defendant’s name] acted with actual malice; and
(7) that the defamation caused injury to [plaintiff’s name].
{If applicable:} Where, as here, the defendant is an institution, this state of mind
must be attributable to those responsible for the publication.
Provenance
- Source
- courts.delaware.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-09-23
- Edition
- civ-2025-10-22
- Content hash
856f2597eed8ef35a8b02530a803ce6a2f5f91157ed7e699d7de10d789e3832d
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