Section 12 Reduction of Damages Through Retraction

• Library: Damages 2012

A retraction is a withdrawal of the defamatory charge. Merely to state that the victim of the defamation denies the charge is not a retraction; the defamer must recant and withdraw the accusation. See Palmer v. Mahin, 120 F. 737, 746 (8^th Cir. 1903). Many states have codified the legal effect of retractions through retraction statutes. See Rex S. Heinke, Media Law § 2.16(C) (1994). Missouri has no retraction statute.

The absence of a retraction statute does not render evidence of a retraction irrelevant...