M Civ JI 118.03 Libel, Slander - Statement of and Concerning the Plaintiff

The statement must have been of and concerning the plaintiff.

Comment

A person does not have a cause of action for defamation unless it is he or she who is defamed. Lewis v Soule, 3 Mich 514 (1855); Watson v Detroit Journal Co, 143 Mich 430; 107 NW 81 (1906); Ball v White, 3 Mich App 579; 143 NW2d 188 (1966). Others who are injured indirectly by the defamation may have a derivative suit (i.e., loss of consortium). Peisner v Detroit Free Press, Inc, 104 Mich App 59; 304 NW2d 814 (1981); aff’d in part on other grounds, 421 Mich 125; 364 NW2d 600 (1984).

A corporation has a cause of action for defamation. Heritage Optical Center, Inc v Levine, 137 Mich App 793; 359 NW2d 210 (1984).

History

M Civ JI 118.03 was added August 1983.