Author: Edward Seaton
Published: April 01, 1998
Last Updated: May 20, 1999
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Libel

Current retraction laws offer varied relief

By Edward Seaton

Today’s libel and corrections laws vary widely from state to state, but they all fall short of the Uniform Correction Act:

• In every state with a retraction statute (except Maine, Michigan, Ohio, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia), a correction takes punitive damages off the table if there is no proof of malice. In those six states, a correction mitigates punitive damages even when malice is proved. And to be correct, even in the 19 states without retraction statutes, punitive damages are normally off the table without proof of malice.
• Where malice is proved, the retraction statutes of only five states (Alabama, California, Massachusetts, Nevada and Oregon) take punitive damages off the table if a correction is run. Six of the statutes provide that a correction can be introduced into the trial to mitigate punitive damages. In the other states, news organizations are basically out of luck if malice is proved.
• And of the question of damages for loss of reputation (i.e., general damages), only in California and Nevada does a correction take that off the table under all circumstances. In three other states (Minnesota, Nebraska, and Oregon), it is off the table if no malice is proved. Five other states permit a correction to be introduced at trial for purposes of mitigating general damages.