VA · jury_instructions
Va. Model Jury Instr. Civ. No. 37.107
Presumed Damages (Public Concern)
If you find your verdict for the plaintiff, and you further find that the plaintiff proved by clear
and convincing evidence that the defendant made the alleged defamatory statement knowing that
it was false or made it so recklessly as to amount to a willful disregard for the truth, that is, with a
high degree of awareness that the statement was probably false, the plaintiff is entitled to recover
compensatory damages without any proof of actual or monetary injury. The statement alleged in
this case is understood to mean that the [plaintiff has committed the crime of (name of crime
involving moral turpitude); plaintiff would commit the crime of (name of crime involving moral
turpitude); plaintiff has a contagious disease offensive to society; plaintiff is dishonest in performing the
duties of his employment; the effect of the words is prejudicial to the plaintiff in his work or chosen
profession]. As a result, if you find that the defendant made the alleged defamatory statement
knowing that it was false or with reckless disregard for its truth or falsity, injury to the plaintiff’s
personal and business reputation, humiliation, and embarrassment is presumed.
History
Virginia Model Jury Instructions – Civil, Release 26, April 2026. The unannotated set, posted by the Supreme Court of Virginia at vacourts.gov; the book states that it is made available with the permission of the publisher, Matthew Bender & Company, Inc.
Provenance
- Source
- vacourts.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-11
- Edition
- civ-2026-04-01
- Content hash
d0049714341517dd26199e75f99409f590cef8bb7106395766af8adc2341e505
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