- Joined
- Sep 30, 2023
How do you calculate that though? Is it based on peoples relative wealth? Does a rich person get more than a poor person? Does someone with a business get more than someone without? And then we're back at calculating again?
(Obligatory IANAL) Libel per se is different from libel per quod (normal libel), as in the latter, you have to be able to prove damages in order for your case to have standing.
To compare it to criminal proceedings, libel per quod would be like a mens rea offense, where even if the act was criminal, you also have to prove intent. However, libel per se would be akin to an absolute liability offense, wherein only the fact that it happens needs to be proved, and the defendant can't rely on any defense like due diligence, necessity, etc.
Libel per se falls into the latter category, in that only that the statements themselves were made needs to be proven (which is obvious from their Xitter feed), and that they meet the criteria for defamation (which in a sane world, Epik's statements absolutely would).
From Cornell Law School:
Libel per se is a defamatory statement that is actionable in itself. To constitute libel per se, the words themselves must be damaging to the affected person. As a result, words that can reasonably be interpreted as having another meaning do not constitute libel per se. Whether words of a publication are libelous per se is a question of law for the court. In making this determination, courts, like the Ohio Supreme Court, have stated that language that itself brings one's character into ridicule or contempt, or injuriously affected his trade or profession constitute libel per se.
New York courts have articulated the standard that determines whether the tenor of the language "would naturally import a criminal or disgraceful charge in the mind of an intelligent man."
Examples of libel per se include statements that falsely claim that a person committed a crime of moral turpitude and claims that a person suffers from a “loathsome disease.” Unlike in a traditional action for libel, in an action libel per se, malice is presumed, and damages may be recovered without the plaintiff needing to plead or proving special damages (libel that requires a showing of damages are sometimes referred to as "libel per quod").
The suit could simply demand a full and public admission of guilt with an equally public retraction of their statements, costs and fees involved with pursuing the litigation, and "any and all other relief the court deems just and proper under applicable laws" which, let's face it, would be fuck-all because no judge would want to actually reward an "eebil nazi" for successfully defending themselves. But it would at least mean that there is a legal record of Epik's claims being shown false in a court of law, and anyone who tries to attack KF later on by parroting Epik's claims can likely be sued with the previous case as precedent.
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