Section 5.9 Rules of Construction

• Library: Tort Law 2016

1. (§5.9) Rules of Construction

Determining whether a statement is defamatory involves a two-step process in which the court must first decide as an issue of law whether the language complained about is legally capable of a defamatory meaning. See:

· Brown v. Kitterman, 443 S.W.2d 146 (Mo. 1969)

· Diener v. Star-Chronicle Pub. Co., 135 S.W. 6 (Mo. banc 1911)

· Ampleman v. Scheweppe, 972 S.W.2d 329, 332 (Mo. App. E.D. 1998)

Second, if the court concludes that words are capable of a defamatory meaning, then, and only then, it becomes a question of fact for the jury whether such a meaning was intended by the publisher and understood by the audience. Branch v. Publishers: George Knapp & Co., 121 S.W. 93 (Mo. 1909).

Specific rules of construction guide a court in deciding whether words are capable of a defamatory meaning. The court should construe the entire publication and decide whether a reasonable reading of the complained-about words, in context, is defamatory as to the plaintiff. Coots v. Payton, 280 S.W.2d 47 (Mo. banc 1955). "‘All parts of the publication must be read together to collect the true meaning...