Section 45 Defamation

• Library: Damages 2012

In a defamation action, “actual malice” must be established to recover punitive damages. Overcast v. Billings Mut. Ins. Co., 11 S.W.3d 62, 70 (Mo. banc 2000); Englezos v. Newspress & Gazette Co., 980 S.W.2d 25, 30 (Mo. App. W.D. 1998). “Actual malice” exists when a statement is made “‘with knowledge that it was false, or with reckless disregard for whether it was true or false at a time when defendant had serious doubt as to whether it was true.’” Overcast, 11 S.W.3d at 70 (quoting Snodgrass v. Headco...