article_snippet.sent: The Virginia Supreme Court said in Jordan v. Kollman that "the elements of libel are (1) publication of (2) an actionable statement with (3) the requisite intent."
article_snippet.sent: Of course, the law of defamation must be balanced against the freedom of speech protected under not only the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, but also the Virginia Constitution.
article_snippet.sent: A private person suing for defamation must establish that the defendant has published a false factual statement that is about the person and that the defendant also harms the person's reputation.
article_snippet.sent: There are strict rules about who can be a plaintiff in a defamation action like this.
article_snippet.sent: A plaintiff in a defamation case must show that the statements were "of or concerning" the plaintiff.
article_snippet.sent: Lawyers will tell you that a libel suit is one of those things that citizens often threaten each other with on Facebook, but that such cases are rarely actually filed.
article_snippet.sent: And since most of the people who waste time threatening each other with defamation suits  on Facebook live in the people who waste time threatening each other with defamation suits  on Facebook moms' basements and are "between jobs," these are not the kind of people who have money or reputation to damage in the first place.
article_snippet.sent: The UVA situation is not your run-of-the-mill defamation case.