Question

identify whether the scenario represents libel or slander.

• a personal trainer and weight-loss guru is suing his former client after she claimed verbally on several occasions that the trainer encouraged disordered eating.
• a newspaper prints a story claiming the owner of a convenience store is selling kush, an illegal drug, from his store.
• lenny pozner, whose son noah died in the sandy hook mass shooting, sued the authors of a book claiming sandy hook was a hoax and that noahs death certificate was fake.

Explanation:

Distinguish between libel and slander

Libel refers to written, printed, or published defamatory statements, while slander refers to spoken or oral defamatory statements.

Classify the first scenario

The client made defamatory claims "verbally on several occasions," which represents spoken defamation. Thus, it is slander.

Classify the second and third scenarios

The second scenario involves a "newspaper prints a story," and the third involves "authors of a book claiming," both of which are written/published media. Thus, both represent libel.

Answer:

No.	Scenario	Classification
2	A newspaper prints a story claiming the owner of a convenience store is selling kush, an illegal drug, from his store.	Libel
3	Lenny Pozner, whose son Noah died in the Sandy Hook mass shooting, sued the authors of a book claiming Sandy Hook was a hoax and that Noah's death certificate was fake.	Libel