What Is a Slandered Real Property Title?
A slandered real property title is title to property whose validity has been brought into question by someone's statement. The legal term for such a statement is "slander of title." Each state has its own laws detailing requirements to sue someone for slander of title; those with questions about slander of a specific piece of property should seek legal advice.
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Title to Property
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"Title" basically refers to ownership of the property. If you hold good title, the property is yours. However, even if an owner holds good title to the property, certain legal actions may impair that title and limit the owner's rights regarding the property. For example, if another party places a lien on the property, the owner typically has limited rights over the property until he clears the lien. Easements, which allow non-owner parties to use the property in some way, constitute another limitation on title.
Slander of Title
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Slander of title is a tort (a claim of personal injury.) Slander of title, like slander in general, is an injury caused by a false statement. Someone falsely asserts something negative about an owner's title to the property, and this false assertion damages the owner in some way. To constitute slander of title, the slanderer must make publication of the slanderous statement; this means that he must make the assertion to a third party, not the property's owner. The statement must then cause some form of real damage to the property's owner. Slander of title typically injures the owner's ability to sell the property, since title problems will often justify a lowered purchase price.
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The Malice Requirement
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A false statement about title only constitutes slander of title if the statement was made with malice. In legal terms, "malice" refers not to the common definition of evil intent, but to the speaker's knowledge that he speaks a false statement, or the speaker's reckless disregard of the fact that his statement may be false. If the speaker honestly believes that he's speaking the truth about the property owner's title, then his actions do not constitute slander.
Damages for Slander
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Even if a plaintiff proves slander of title, the law does not automatically assume that he sustained damages. A slander of title plaintiff must also prove that she was directly damaged by the slanderous statement. The plaintiff can typically recover monetary damages caused by the slander and, in some cases, punitive damages. Although courts typically will not award attorney's fees in a slander of title action, a slander of title plaintiff can usually recover costs sustained for any litigation to prove her good title to the property, if such litigation was made necessary by the slanderer's statement.
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References
- Photo Credit Real Estate image by Stephen VanHorn from Fotolia.com
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