Also known as: mentition · mentitus · mentita · lying · falsehood · mendacity
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A Latin verb denoting the act of lying or making a false statement.
Maurice Marshall hid behind a warehouse for two hours while watching the route his intended robbery target always took after closing. He carried a mask and rope but never approached the victim. The waiting conduct satisfied the substantial-step requirement because it strongly corroborated his criminal purpose.
Matthew Martinez told several suppliers that Midwest Airlines was insolvent and about to default on contracts. The suppliers immediately withdrew credit lines, causing the airline measurable lost revenue. The falsehood's injurious character supplied the key element of the injurious-falsehood claim.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Melissa Mills, a city council member, sued a newspaper after it published an article accusing her of steering contracts to relatives. The article contained factual errors but the reporter had relied on two sources without further verification. Because Mills could not show the paper acted with knowledge of falsity or reckless disregard, her defamation claim failed.
Marcus Mitchell mailed a letter to a trade association stating that Mosaic Retail had falsified safety test results. The letter reached multiple member companies that then canceled orders. The act of mailing constituted publication of the falsehood and triggered liability analysis under the injurious-falsehood elements.
Michael Miller, a local shop owner never involved in public controversy, sued a magazine that falsely reported he had been convicted of fraud. The magazine had failed to check court records before printing. Because Miller was a private figure, he could recover upon showing the publisher acted negligently rather than with actual malice.
Mina Mehta's counsel prepared a detailed memorandum summarizing interviews with occurrence witnesses. When opposing counsel later sought the memorandum, the court protected it as work product. The protection rested on the policy against forcing lawyers to become witnesses to defend the accuracy of their own accounts.
Lying in wait or following the intended victim can constitute a substantial step when the conduct strongly corroborates the actor's criminal purpose. The Model Penal Code lists this conduct as one example that satisfies the requirement if it is strongly corroborative.
The plaintiff must establish the injurious character of the falsehood along with its falsity and publication. These elements together show that the false statement caused harm to a legally protected interest.
A public official must prove that a defamatory falsehood relating to official conduct was made with knowledge of falsity or reckless disregard of truth. This constitutional rule protects good-faith errors and encourages robust public debate.
Publication transmits the falsehood to a third party who can act on it and cause harm. Without publication the false statement remains private and cannot support liability for injurious falsehood or defamation.
…guarantees require, we think, a federal rule that prohibits a public official from recovering damages for a defamatory falsehood relating to his official conduct unless he proves that the statement was made with "actual malice"that is, with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of whether it was…