 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Roland Imperial v. Drapeau8/27/1998
n on the Law of Torts 114 (5th ed. 1984).
This Court, in accordance with the majority of other jurisdictions, has taken a "broad view" of the scope of the privilege, holding that this "important privilege" extends to administrative and other quasi-judicial proceedings. Keys v. Chrysler Credit Corp., 303 Md. 397, 404, 494 A.2d 200, 203 (1985); see also Gersh, 291 Md. 188, 434 A.2d 547. As one commentator has noted:
"There is no precise definition of what qualifies as a 'judicial proceeding' for the purposes of the absolute privilege; but it clearly extends to tribunals other than courts. The term is employed in a flexible fashion to embrace any governmental proceeding involving the exercise of a judicial or quasi-judicial function, including a wide variety of administrative boards, commissions, or other tribunals which may engage in judicial or quasi-judicial action though not part of the court system."
R.A. Smolla, Law of Defamation 8.03 (1986, 1996 Supp.) (footnotes omitted).
In Gersh, this Court declined to extend the judicial privilege to cover voluntary statements made by a witness testifying before the Baltimore City Community Relations Commission. Testimony before that commission, we reasoned, was functionally equivalent to that at "an ordinary open public meeting," at which there were no procedural safeguards for a person who might be defamed. Gersh, 291 Md. at 196, 434 A.2d at 551. Thus, " he public benefit to be derived from testimony at Commission hearings of this type is not sufficiently compelling to outweigh the possible damage to individual reputations to warrant absolute witness immunity." Id.
Whether statements in an administrative proceeding are within the ambit of the absolute privilege is "decided on a case-by-case basis and ... in large part turn on two factors: (1) the nature of the public function of the proceeding and (2) the adequacy of procedural safeguards which will minimize the occurrence of defamatory statements." Id. at 197, 434 A.2d at 551-52.
Nor is the privilege limited to testimony given as a witness in the course of a hearing, whether judicial or administrative. In Miner, 304 Md. 164, 498 A.2d 269, this Court, applying the two Gersh factors, held that the absolute privilege protects a citizen who files a brutality complaint against a police officer. In that case Novotny, within two days of his arrest for driving while intoxicated, filed a sworn complaint against the arresting officer with the officer's superior, alleging that Novotny had been kicked, choked, and otherwise abused during and after his arrest. After an internal investigation had found no misconduct, the officer sued Novotny for defamation. Id. at 166, 498 A.2d at 270.
This Court recognized that the abuse of the "formidable power" vested in law enforcement officers is "extremely detrimental to the public interest." Id. at 176, 498 A.2d at 274-75. We said: "Citizen complaints of such abuses, and the administrative disciplinary procedure which has been developed to investigate these complaints, serve a public function of vital importance by providing a mechanism through which abuses may be reported to the proper authorities, and the abusers held accountable.
"The viability of a democratic government requires that the channels of communication between citizens and their public officials remain open and unimpeded. Were complaints such as Novotny's not absolutely privileged, the possibility of incurring the costs and inconvenience associated with defending a defamation suit might well deter a citizen with a legitimate grievance from filing a complaint."
Id. at 176, 498 A.2d at 275.
Furthe
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Maryland Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|