0001| SENATE BILL 875
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0002| 43rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 1997
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0003| INTRODUCED BY
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0004| PATRICK H. LYONS
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0008|
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0009|
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0010| AN ACT
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0011| RELATING TO DEFAMATION; ENACTING THE UNIFORM CORRECTION OR
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0012| CLARIFICATION OF DEFAMATION ACT.
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0013|
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0014| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
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0015| Section 1. SHORT TITLE.--This act may be cited as the
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0016| "Uniform Correction or Clarification of Defamation Act".
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0017| Section 2. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Uniform
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0018| Correction or Clarification of Defamation Act:
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0019| A. "defamatory" means tending to harm reputation;
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0020| B. "economic loss" means special, pecuniary loss
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0021| caused by a false and defamatory publication; and
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0022| C. "person" means an individual, corporation,
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0023| business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, joint
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0024| venture or other legal or commercial entity. "Person" does not
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0025| include a government or governmental subdivision, agency or
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0001| instrumentality.
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0002| Section 3. SCOPE.--
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0003| A. The Uniform Correction or Clarification of
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0004| Defamation Act applies to any claim for damages, however
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0005| characterized, arising out of harm to personal reputation
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0006| caused by the false content of a publication that is published
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0007| on or after the effective date of the Uniform Correction or
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0008| Clarification of Defamation Act.
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0009| B. The Uniform Correction or Clarification of
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0010| Defamation Act applies to all publications, including writings,
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0011| broadcasts, oral communications, electronic transmissions or
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0012| other forms of transmitting information.
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0013| Section 4. REQUEST FOR CORRECTION OR CLARIFICATION.--
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0014| A. A person may maintain an action for defamation
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0015| only if:
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0016| (1) the person has made a timely and adequate
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0017| request for correction or clarification from the defendant; or
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0018| (2) the defendant has made a correction or
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0019| clarification.
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0020| B. A request for correction or clarification is
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0021| timely if made within the period of limitation for commencement
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0022| of an action for defamation. However, a person who, within
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0023| ninety days after knowledge of the publication, fails to make a
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0024| good-faith attempt to request a correction or clarification may
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0025| recover only provable economic loss.
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0001| C. A request for correction or clarification is
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0002| adequate if it:
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0003| (1) is made in writing and reasonably
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0004| identifies the person making the request;
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0005| (2) specifies with particularity the statement
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0006| alleged to be false and defamatory and, to the extent known,
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0007| the time and place of publication;
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0008| (3) alleges the defamatory meaning of the
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0009| statement;
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0010| (4) specifies the circumstances giving rise to
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0011| any defamatory meaning of the statement that arises from other
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0012| than the express language of the publication; and
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0013| (5) states that the alleged defamatory meaning
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0014| of the statement is false.
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0015| D. In the absence of a previous adequate request,
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0016| service of a summons and complaint stating a claim for relief
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0017| for defamation and containing the information required in
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0018| Subsection C of this section constitutes an adequate request
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0019| for correction or clarification.
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0020| E. The period of limitation for commencement of a
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0021| defamation action is tolled during the period allowed in
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0022| Subsection A of Section 7 of the Uniform Correction or
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0023| Clarification of Defamation Act for responding to a request for
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0024| correction or clarification.
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0025| Section 5. DISCLOSURE OF EVIDENCE OF FALSITY.--
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0001| A. A person who has been requested to make a
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0002| correction or clarification may ask the requester to disclose
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0003| reasonably available information material to the falsity of the
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0004| allegedly defamatory statement.
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0005| B. If a correction or clarification is not made, a
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0006| person who unreasonably fails to disclose the information after
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0007| a request to do so may recover only provable economic loss.
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0008| C. A correction or clarification is timely if
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0009| published within twenty-five days after receipt of information
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0010| disclosed pursuant to Subsection A of this section or forty-
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0011| five days after receipt of a request for correction or
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0012| clarification, whichever is later.
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0013| Section 6. EFFECT OF CORRECTION OR CLARIFICATION.--If a
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0014| timely and sufficient correction or clarification is made, a
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0015| person may recover only provable economic loss, as mitigated by
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0016| the correction or clarification.
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0017| Section 7. TIMELY AND SUFFICIENT CORRECTION OR
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0018| CLARIFICATION.--
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0019| A. A correction or clarification is timely if it is
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0020| published before, or within forty-five days after, receipt of a
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0021| request for correction or clarification, unless the period is
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0022| extended under Subsection C of Section 5 of the Uniform
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0023| Correction or Clarification of Defamation Act.
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0024| B. A correction or clarification is sufficient if
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0025| it:
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0001| (1) is published with a prominence and in a
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0002| manner and medium reasonably likely to reach substantially the
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0003| same audience as the publication complained of;
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0004| (2) refers to the statement being corrected or
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0005| clarified and:
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0006| (a) corrects the statement;
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0007| (b) in the case of defamatory meaning
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0008| arising from other than the express language of the
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0009| publication, disclaims an intent to communicate that meaning or
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0010| to assert its truth; or
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0011| (c) in the case of a statement
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0012| attributed to another person, identifies the person and
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0013| disclaims an intent to assure the truth of the statement; and
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0014| (3) is communicated to the person who has made
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0015| a request for correction or clarification.
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0016| C. A correction or clarification is published in a
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0017| medium reasonably likely to reach substantially the same
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0018| audience as the publication complained of if it is published in
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0019| a later issue, edition or broadcast of the original
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0020| publication.
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0021| D. If a later issue, edition or broadcast of the
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0022| original publication will not be published within the time
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0023| limits established for a timely correction or clarification, a
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0024| correction or clarification is published in a manner and medium
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0025| reasonably likely to reach substantially the same audience as
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0001| the publication complained of if:
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0002| (1) it is timely published in a reasonably
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0003| prominent manner:
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0004| (a) in another medium likely to reach an
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0005| audience reasonably equivalent to the original publication; or
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0006| (b) if the parties cannot agree on
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0007| another medium, in the newspaper with the largest general
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0008| circulation in the region in which the original publication was
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0009| distributed;
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0010| (2) reasonable steps are taken to correct
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0011| undistributed copies of the original publication, if any; and
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0012| (3) it is published in the next practicable
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0013| issue, edition or broadcast, if any, of the original
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0014| publication.
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0015| E. A correction or clarification is timely and
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0016| sufficient if the parties agree in writing that it is timely
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0017| and sufficient.
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0018| Section 8. CHALLENGES TO CORRECTION OR CLARIFICATION OR
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0019| TO REQUEST FOR CORRECTION OR CLARIFICATION.--
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0020| A. If a defendant in an action governed by the
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0021| Uniform Correction or Clarification of Defamation Act intends
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0022| to rely on a timely and sufficient correction or clarification,
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0023| the defendant's intention to do so, and the correction or
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0024| clarification relied upon, must be set forth in a notice served
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0025| on the plaintiff within sixty days after service of the
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0001| complaint or ten days after the correction or clarification is
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0002| made, whichever is later. A correction or clarification is
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0003| deemed to be timely and sufficient unless the plaintiff
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0004| challenges its timeliness or sufficiency within twenty days
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0005| after the notice is served.
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0006| B. If a defendant in an action governed by the
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0007| Uniform Correction or Clarification of Defamation Act intends
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0008| to challenge the adequacy or timeliness of a request for
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0009| correction or clarification, the defendant must set forth the
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0010| challenge in a motion to declare the request inadequate or
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0011| untimely served within sixty days after the service of the
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0012| complaint. The court shall rule on the motion at the earliest
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0013| appropriate time before trial.
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0014| Section 9. OFFER TO CORRECT OR CLARIFY.--If a timely
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0015| correction or clarification is no longer possible, the
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0016| publisher of an alleged defamatory statement may offer, at any
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0017| time before trial, to make a correction or clarification. The
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0018| offer must be made in writing to the person allegedly defamed
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0019| by the publication and:
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0020| (1) contain the publisher's offer to:
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0021| (a) publish, at the person's request, a
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0022| sufficient correction or clarification; and
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0023| (b) pay the person's reasonable expenses
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0024| of litigation, including attorneys' fees, incurred before
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0025| publication of the correction or clarification; and
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0001| (2) be accompanied by a copy of the proposed
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0002| correction or clarification and the plan for its publication.
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0003| B. If the person accepts in writing an offer to
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0004| correct or clarify made pursuant to Subsection A of this
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0005| section:
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0006| (1) the person is barred from commencing an
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0007| action against the publisher based on the statement; or
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0008| (2) if an action has been commenced, the court
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0009| shall dismiss the action against the defendant with prejudice
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0010| after the defendant complies with the terms of the offer.
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0011| C. A person who does not accept an offer made in
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0012| conformance with Subsection A of this section may recover in an
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0013| action based on the statement only:
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0014| (1) damages for provable economic loss; and
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0015| (2) reasonable expenses of litigation,
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0016| including attorneys' fees, incurred before the offer, unless
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0017| the person failed to make a good-faith attempt to request a
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0018| correction or clarification in accordance with Subsection B of
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0019| Section 4 of the Uniform Correction or Clarification of
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0020| Defamation Act or failed to disclose information in accordance
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0021| with Section 5 of that act.
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0022| D. On request of either party, a court shall
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0023| promptly determine the sufficiency of the offered correction or
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0024| clarification.
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0025| E. The court shall determine the amount of
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0001| reasonable expenses of litigation, including attorneys' fees,
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0002| specified in this section.
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0003| Section 10. SCOPE OF PROTECTION.--A timely and sufficient
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0004| correction or clarification made by a person responsible for a
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0005| publication constitutes a correction or clarification made by
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0006| all persons responsible for that publication other than a
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0007| republisher. However, a correction or clarification that is
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0008| sufficient only because of the operation of Subparagraph (c) of
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0009| Paragraph (2) of Subsection B of Section 7 of the Uniform
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0010| Correction or Clarification of Defamation Act does not
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0011| constitute a correction or clarification made by the person to
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0012| whom the statement is attributed.
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0013| Section 11. ADMISSIBILITY OF EVIDENCE OF CORRECTION OR
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0014| CLARIFICATION.--
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0015| A. The fact of a request for correction or
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0016| clarification under the Uniform Correction or Clarification of
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0017| Defamation Act, the contents of the request and its acceptance
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0018| or refusal are not admissible in evidence at trial.
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0019| B. The fact that a correction or clarification
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0020| under the Uniform Correction or Clarification of Defamation Act
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0021| was made and the contents of the correction or clarification
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0022| are not admissible in evidence at trial except in mitigation of
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0023| damages pursuant to Section 6 of that act. If the fact that a
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0024| correction or clarification was made or the contents of the
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0025| correction or clarification are received in evidence, the fact
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0001| of the request may also be received.
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0002| C. The fact of an offer of correction or
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0003| clarification, or the fact of its refusal, and the contents of
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0004| the offer are not admissible in evidence at trial.
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0005| Section 12. UNIFORMITY OF APPLICATION AND
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0006| CONSTRUCTION.--The Uniform Correction or Clarification of
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0007| Defamation Act shall be applied and construed to effectuate its
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0008| general purpose to make uniform the law with respect to the
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0009| subject of that act among states enacting it.
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0010| Section 13. SEVERABILITY.--If any part or application of
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0011| the Uniform Correction or Clarification of Defamation Act is
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0012| held invalid, the remainder or its application to other
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0013| situations or persons shall not be affected.
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0014| Section 14. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the
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0015| provisions of this act is July 1, 1997.
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0001|
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0002| FORTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE
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0003| FIRST SESSION, 1997
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0004|
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0005|
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0006| March 5, 1997
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0007|
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0008| Mr. President:
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0009|
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0010| Your PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, to whom has been
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0011| referred
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0012|
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0013| SENATE BILL 875
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0014|
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0015| has had it under consideration and reports same with
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0016| recommendation that it DO PASS, and thence referred to the
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0017| JUDICIARY COMMITTEE.
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0018|
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0019| Respectfully submitted,
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0020|
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0021|
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0022|
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0023|
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0024| __________________________________
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0025| Shannon Robinson, Chairman
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0001|
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0002|
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0003|
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0004| Adopted_______________________ Not
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0005| Adopted_______________________
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0006| (Chief Clerk) (Chief Clerk)
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0007|
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0008|
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0009| Date ________________________
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0010|
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0011|
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0012| The roll call vote was 5 For 0 Against
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0013| Yes: 5
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0014| No: 0
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0015| Excused: Garcia, Ingle, Vernon, Smith
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0016| Absent: None
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0017|
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0018|
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0019| S0875PA1
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0020|
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0021|
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