§ 6.4.4 INTRODUCTION: REQUIRED ELEMENTS

• Jurisdiction: Arizona

§ 6.4.4 Introduction: Required Elements. For a statement to be actionable, it must be published to some third person.¹³ It must be a defamatory statement.¹⁴ The statement must be "of and concerning" the plaintiff,¹⁵ and must be provably false.¹⁶ The statement cannot be an opinion.¹⁷ The plaintiff must prove that the defendant acted with some degree of "fault." The type of fault depends on the nature of the plaintiff and on the circumstances of the publication. If the plaintiff is a private individual and no privileged occasion is involved, the degree of fault is simple negligence.¹⁸ The degree of fault is "actual malice" if the plaintiff is a public official¹⁹ or public figure,²⁰ or if the statement is made on a privileged occasion.²¹ To be actionable, the statement must also cause²² damage.²³

Section 6.4.5, infra, discusses the special problems of defamation law as they relate to employment, including how actual malice can be established.²⁴

Section 6.4.5.7, infra, discusses the opinion issue and how to determine the difference between actionable statements, when based on provable fact and protected opinions which are not actionable.²⁵

In pleading a defamation claim, the words spoken should be alleged in the complaint²⁶ as well as the date of publication.²⁷

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Notes:

^[13] The element of publication is discussed in § 6.4.4.1, infra.

^[14] Discussed in § 6.4.4.2, infra.

^[15] See § 6.4.4.3, infra.

^[16] See §...