Slander of title can happen when one person makes a statement or takes some action that casts doubt on someone else's ownership of real property—meaning a home, building, or parcel of land—causing some kind of financial harm to the owner. Let's take a closer look at what a valid slander of title claim requires, and the types of compensation (damages) that might be available to a successful plaintiff in this kind of case.
The definition of "slander of title" and the elements included in this kind of legal claim vary from state to state, but the essentials are typically:
There's a lot to unpack here, so let's see what slander of title might look like in the real world.
Let's say a subcontractor took on and completed the majority of a huge renovation job at a homeowner's property. According to the terms of the plans and contracts that dictated the work, the homeowner was to pay a main contractor in full, and the main contractor would then pay the subcontractor.
After receiving payment from the homeowner, the contractor fled the country, leaving the subcontractor unpaid. So, the subcontractor turned around and filed a "mechanic's lien" (a claim for a security interest) on the homeowner's property, despite the fact that the homeowner fulfilled their obligations under the renovation agreement, and paid the contractor.
A prospective buyer of the house saw that the property was encumbered by a pending claim on the title (the subcontractor's mechanic's lien), and pulled out of a purchase agreement, leaving the homeowner with financial damages. At this point, the homeowner might have a valid slander of title claim against the subcontractor.
Note that if the subcontractor filed the mechanic's lien in good faith, and based on a reasonable belief in its validity (which is doubtful in this hypothetical), then the property owner's slander of faith claim will almost certainly fail.
"Publication" in a slander of title claim often refers to recording a false claim against the plaintiff's property in some kind of public record. For example, when our jilted subcontractor in the above example files the mechanic's lien on the plaintiff's property, that's publication. But in a broader sense, a "publication" can be any kind of communication made by the defendant to anyone other than the plaintiff.
It depends on what the law says in your state. Most states require that the defendant took the slanderous action with reckless disregard for whether the statement was true, or whether the filing had merit. If the defendant knew of the falsity of the statement or the meritless nature of the filing, that usually amounts to "malice," but this level of knowledge isn't always required in order for slander of title to be committed. In other words, to satisfy the requirements for slander of title, the defendant doesn't necessarily need to be "out to get" the plaintiff. Again, the specifics of your state's laws are crucial here.
A plaintiff must show damages in order to prove a slander of title case. This means some kind of harm needs to be demonstrated.
Since slander of title typically involves actions that wrongfully cast a cloud over the plaintiff's ownership of property, the resulting damages are usually financial. Possibilities include a cancelled lease or blown real estate transaction where the lessor/buyer backs out because of:
Other damages can include the expenses necessary to clear up the slander, such as legal fees—not what the plaintiff pays their attorneys to sue for slander of title, but prior legal fees paid in order to, for example:
Many states also permit punitive damages in slander of title claims, if there is particularly malicious or fraudulent conduct on the part of the defendant.
A defendant may be able to claim the defense of privilege in two very limited circumstances, in response to a slander of title claim.
The first circumstance is called a conditional privilege, which can exist when a defendant has a reasonable basis to believe what they're saying about the plaintiff's ownership of property, or a good faith belief in the validity of a filing related to the property.
The second situation is where there is absolute privilege to make otherwise slanderous statements against the plaintiff's title, as in judicial proceedings (statements made during litigation, for example). Note that if there is malice in the making of the statement, there can usually be no privilege.
A slander of title claim usually falls most squarely under real estate law, because it involves issues related to real property—including the validity of a property owner's title and the kinds of financial harm that can result from a "clouded title" (a perceived or actual title defect).
That doesn't mean you necessarily need to hire a self-proclaimed "real estate law specialist" to handle a slander of title case, but some level of experience with these kinds of claims is probably a plus. Learn more about how to find the right lawyer, and get tips on hiring and working with a lawyer (from Nolo.com).