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It probably makes more sense if you read "opinion" here not as a professed statement of belief but rather as "conclusory statement." Note that an incorrect conc
by jcranmer 4y ago
It probably makes more sense if you read "opinion" here not as a professed statement of belief but rather as "conclusory statement." Note that an incorrect conclusory statement based on undisclosed premises is potentially defamatory, as is one based on incorrect disclosed premises. The seeming loophole is that an incorrect conclusory statement that is based on correct disclosed premises (i.e., it was incorrectly derived) is not potentially defamatory.
- SpicyLemonZest 4y agoWhat I don’t get is how that loophole doesn’t nullify the entire concept of defamation. Someone says “Mr. Zest was the man who stabbed my father to death last Tuesday”, I show them proof I was out of town, and they continue to tell the story because they incorrectly and unreasonably concluded that my proof was false. Surely that doesn’t mean they’ll win my defamation lawsuit - if it did how could a defendant ever lose?