Collins v. Red Roof Inns, Inc.

DAVIS, Chief Justice:

The question herein certified by the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia asks whether defamatory matter published preliminary to the filing of a judicial action, and involving a person who is not a party to the dispute, is absolutely privileged. We conclude that an absolute privilege applies to defamatory statements uttered prior to the commencement of a judicial action, even when the subject of the defamatory comments is a third person, but only within the specific limitations set forth in the body of this opinion.

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FACTUAL AND…