United Insurance Co. of America v. Murphy

I concur with the ultimate result reached in this case, but I dissent from the majority’s announced prospective rule that henceforth every plaintiff in every defamation case, whether or not the First Amendment is implicated, must prove reputational injury in order to recover damages. If the majority’s decision means that plaintiffs must now prove actual loss in order to recover in a slander action, I strongly dissent.

The rationale behind the doctrine of presumed damages for slander per se is best illustrated by the dissent of Justice M. Steele Hays in Lile v. Matthews, 268 Ark. 980, 598…