A less common but no less important defense to a cause of action for defamation is the defense of consent. If the defendant can show that the plaintiff consented to the publication of the alleged defamatory statement or statements, it operates as a complete defense. In other words, defendant wins.
Under what circumstances has the doctrine of consent been successful? Well, I’m glad you asked.
In one case a school superintendent was demoted and requested a statement of reasons from the school board. The school board did so in a confidential letter, which included the allegation that the superintendent had taken part in distributing fake election flyers. Apparently the superintendent was not pleased so he submitted the letter to a newspaper and the newspaper published the letter.. The court held that plaintiff’ consented to the publication of the letter.
In other instances a person may consent to a third party or an organization investigating him and publishing its findings. This would constitute consent as well.
In any event, consent is a form of absolute privilege. While it does not come up very often, It is a total defense. Therefore it is important for any practitioner to be aware of it in case it appears in a fact pattern.
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