Salinas v. Salinas

Maria Salinas contends that the court of appeals affirmed a judgment against her based on an alleged defamatory statement that the jury concluded had caused no harm to the plaintiff. We agree, reverse the court of appeals’ judgment, and remand to that court for further proceedings.

Norberto Salinas, the mayor of Mission, Texas, sued Maria (no relation) for slander, alleging three slanderous statements made by Maria:

• Statement One, made at a city council meeting and allegedly directed at Norberto: “[Y]ou have stolen and lied and killed.”

• Statement Two, allegedly made to a third party:…