§ 14-17 Defamation - Defense of Qualified Privilege - Elements

• Library: South Carolina Requests to Charge - Civil (SCBar) (2016 Ed.)

§ 14-17 Defamation - Defense of Qualified Privilege - Elements

What is a qualified privilege? A communication made in good faith on any subject matter in which the person communicating has an interest, or in reference to which he has a duty, is qualifiedly privileged if made to a person having a corresponding interest or duty, even though it contains matter which, without this privilege, would be actionable, and although the duty is not a legal one, but only a moral or social duty of imperfect obligation.

The essential elements of a qualifiedly privileged communication are:

(1) good faith;
(2) an interest to be upheld;
(3) a statement limited in its scope to this purpose;
(4) a proper occasion; and
(5) publication in a proper

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