From Studies in Psychopathy - http://www.cassiopaea.com/archive/most2.htm
It has come to our attention here at QFG that Vincent Bridges, the subject of an investigative article on this site, in true psychopathic fashion, has announced his intention to sue Perseus Foundation which is totally uninvolved with this research. The research was conducted by a loose group of individuals who banded together to form the Quantum Future School. Actually, his implied intentions are to sue Laura, specifically, assuming and declaring (erroneously, as it happens), that she is the one who did all the research and wrote the article.
In his remarks, Mr. Bridges states, again erroneously, that he can sue for "defamation" because "in defamation actions, the truth or falsehood of the defamation is not the issue."
As it happens, defamation is a legal term that is the "set" of which libel and slander are the subset. In order for something to be proved defamatory, it must be proven that it is either libel or slander FIRST. And to prove that it is libel or slander, one must first prove that it is untrue.
WHAT
IS NOT DEFAMATION
The following is where defamation does not occur:
Opinions, properly worded and identified as such, are not defamatory. It's called "Free Speech."
Statements that lack any of the three required elements:
1) they are true
2) they are not communicated to a third person
3) they do not damage character or reputation.
In other words, whether a statement is TRUE or NOT is the very crux of defamation.
In other words, the court will FIRST inquire as to whether the statement itself is sufficiently factual to be susceptible of being proved true or false. See Partington v. Bugliosi, 56 F.3d 1147, 1153 (9th Cir.'94) (applying three-factor test as the starting point for analysis); Unelko Corp. v. Rooney, 912 F.2d 1049, 1053 (9th Cir.'90), cert. denied, 499 U.S. 961 (1991). . . .
