Michigan Defamation Laws and Lawsuits

"What do I have to prove for a Michigan defamation claim?"

If that question—or something like it—is what brought you here, you're in the right place. We explain the basics of Michigan defamation law, including the elements of a claim, defenses to liability, the deadline to file your case in court, and more.

Elements of Michigan Defamation Law

To succeed with a Michigan defamation claim, you must prove each of these elements:

• someone made a false statement about you
• the statement was defamatory
• the statement was published to a third party and was neither privileged nor subject to a defense
• the person who made the statement had the required state of mind, and
• you were harmed by the statement.

(Learn about the evidence you'll need for a defamation case.)

A False Statement

A defamation claim begins with one or more false statements of fact. Under Michigan law, a true statement—no matter how harmful it might be—isn't defamatory. Similarly, except in a very narrow group of cases, statements of opinion aren't defamatory because they can't be proven false.

As an example, consider these two statements.

• Roe is the worst politician in the history of our city.
• Roe shakes business owners down for campaign contributions. He's the worst politician we've ever had.

The first statement is an opinion that can't be proved true or false. It's not defamatory and is protected by the First Amendment.

The second statement—actually two statements—is a different matter. The claim that Roe shakes down business owners for contributions is a factual statement. If it's false, it's defamatory. The second statement is still a protected opinion, and can't be the basis of a defamation claim.

Statement Was Defamatory

Michigan recognizes a statement as defamatory when it:

• harms the reputation of another person, or
• deters others from associating that person.

Whether a statement is defamatory is a mixed question of law and of fact. This means that a judge first has to decide whether the statement qualifies as potentially defamatory under Michigan law. To do this, the court asks whether a reasonable juror could find that the statement was defamatory. If the answer to that question is no, then the case ends as to that statement.

But if the answer is yes, then it's up to the finder of fact—usually a jury—to decide whether the statement was in fact defamatory.

Some statements are considered to be so harmful that they're presumed to be defamatory. The law calls these statements "defamatory per se." When you're the object of a statement that's defamatory per se, you can collect nominal damages (for example, $1) even if you can't prove actual damages.

In Michigan, two kinds of statements are per se defamatory:

• statements alleging a lack of chastity, and
• statements alleging a criminal offense.

(See Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.2911(1) (2025).)

Publication Without Privilege or Defense

Publishing a statement means making it to someone other than the person who was allegedly defamed. If you're the only one who hears or sees a statement about you, it isn't defamation.

Publication comes in two varieties. When a defamatory statement is spoken to a third party, it's called slander. Written publication of a defamatory statement is known as libel. Publication by broadcast media is also libel.

In addition to substantial truth (mentioned above), Michigan law recognizes several privileges and defenses to a defamation claim.

• Opinion and fair comment privileges. As a rule, you're allowed to express opinions about and criticize others, and to comment on matters of public interest, without fear of defamation liability. But as described above, when opinions imply knowledge of facts that are substantially untrue, they can cross the line into defamation by implication.
• Fair report privilege. Defamation damages can't be awarded for publishing a true report of an official public act or proceeding. (See Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.2911(3) (2025).)
• Wire service defense. When reporting a story published by a wire service, a local media outlet must review the story to make sure it doesn't contain facial inaccuracies or inconsistencies, but it's not obligated to independently verify the accuracy of all the facts. This defense isn't available if the local media outlet knows the wire story is untrue.
• Absolute privilege. A few statements are absolutely privileged, meaning the person who makes them can't be liable for defamation. As a general rule, this privilege extends to officials participating in legislative, judicial, or administrative proceedings and to executive officers carrying out their job duties.
• Retraction. A broadcaster or publisher can't be made to pay punitive damages when they publish a retraction or correction as specified in Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.2911(2)(b) (2025).

Required State of Mind

To qualify as defamation, a statement must be made with the required state of mind. That state of mind depends on whether the plaintiff is a public official or public figure, or a private citizen.

Public officials and public figures. A public official is an elected or appointed government officer. Public figures are famous actors, musicians, athletes, and other celebrities.

To win a defamation case, public officials and public figures must prove—with clear and convincing evidence—that the speaker or writer knew what they were saying was false, or published the statement with reckless disregard for its truth or falsity. (See Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.2911(6) (2025).) The law calls this state of mind "actual malice." It's a very difficult standard to meet.

A private citizen only needs to show that a statement was published negligently. The actual malice standard doesn't apply.

You Were Harmed by the Defamatory Statement

Except in cases of defamation per se (discussed above), proof that you were harmed—meaning that you suffered damages—is critical to a defamation claim. The essence of defamation is that it harms your reputation or standing in the community. In most defamation cases, if you can't prove you were harmed, you don't have a claim.

Suppose, for example, that someone made defamatory statements about you having been fired from past jobs for dishonesty. Your current employer got wind of these statements and let you go. You've been harmed by the defamatory statements.

Damages in a Michigan Defamation Case

In any kind of Michigan defamation case, you can collect actual damages for your economic and noneconomic losses. (See Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.2911(2)(a) (2025).) In rare cases involving especially egregious misconduct, you might also get Michigan's version of punitive damages, called "exemplary damages."

Economic Damages

Economic damages reimburse you for losses and expenses that come out of your pocket or that are paid by your insurance. Most often, economic damages in a defamation case consist of past lost income and diminished future earning capacity. If you can show that you incurred medical bills—for treatment of, say, depression or anxiety caused by the defamation—those are also economic damages.

Noneconomic Damages

Noneconomic damages compensate you for losses that don't come directly out of your pocket. Included are things like emotional distress, disability, and loss of enjoyment of life. Calculating these damages can be difficult, because it's challenging to put a dollar value on them.

(Learn more about damages in a defamation case.)

What's Michigan's Defamation Statute of Limitations?

A statute of limitations is a law that puts a deadline on your time to file a lawsuit in court. It has one job: To kill legal claims. Miss the filing deadline and, absent an extension that gives you more time, your claim is dead. Nothing you do will bring it back to life. In short, if you miss the statute of limitations on your claim, you've lost the right to collect damages for your injuries.

The General Rule: One Year

Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.5805(11) (2025) allows one year to file a lawsuit for libel or slander. The statute of limitations clock typically begins to run on the date the defamatory statement is first made. If the statement is later repeated, copied, or republished verbatim and in the same manner, the one-year clock probably won't reset.

Can the Statute of Limitations Deadline Be Extended?

Sometimes, yes. In these situations, Michigan law delays the start of the statute of limitations clock (or pauses the clock after it starts), effectively extending the one-year filing deadline.

Plaintiff is legally disabled. When the plaintiff is a minor (younger than 18 years old) or has been found "insane," they have one year from the date the disability is "removed" to sue. (Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.5851 (2025).)

Defendant is absent from Michigan. When the defendant defames you while they're outside of Michigan, or leaves the state after defaming you, the statute of limitations doesn't run for the period they're out of state. Note, importantly, that this extension only applies if the defendant's absence prevents you from serving them with your lawsuit. (Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.5853 (2025).) Your lawyer can provide details.

Fraudulent concealment. Suppose the defendant fraudulently conceals the defamatory statement from you. Should that happen, you have two years from the date you discover your claim to file a lawsuit. (Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.5855 (2025).)

Don't rely on one of these extensions without first speaking to an attorney. You're almost certainly in for a fight, and you don't want to go into that battle without expert legal help.

Where Do I File a Michigan Defamation Lawsuit?

When you're asking for damages of more than $25,000, you'll file in Michigan's main trial court, called the circuit court. In the unlikely event that you're asking for $25,000 or less in damages, your case belongs in the Michigan district court.

In addition, you need to sue in the proper "venue," or location. Generally speaking, that will be in the place where:

• the defendant lives
• the defendant, if it's a company, has its main place of business, or
• you were injured.

Is Defamation Also a Crime in Michigan?

In rare instances, yes. It's a misdemeanor to "falsely and maliciously, by word, writing, sign, or otherwise accuse, attribute, or impute to another the commission of any crime, felony or misdemeanor, or any infamous or degrading act, or impute or attribute to any female a want of chastity... ." (Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.370 (2025).)

A couple of points deserve mention. First, it isn't clear whether, or how often, Michigan charges or prosecutes violations of this rather antiquated law. Second, as written, the statute is almost certainly unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment equal protection clause. By singling out women and excluding men from the law, it impermissibly discriminates on the basis of gender.

Do I Need a Lawyer for My Defamation Case?

There are some cases you might be able to handle on your own, without legal counsel. Say you were slightly injured in a minor rear-end collision, and there's no real dispute about the other driver's liability or your damages. You might be able to get a fair settlement in a case like that.

A defamation claim, no matter how straightforward it might seem, isn't that kind of case. You're likely to encounter thorny factual and legal issues, and you can bet you'll be up against a very competent defense attorney on the other side. An experienced defamation lawyer knows how to work your defamation claim up for settlement or trial, and can help you to craft a case narrative that puts you in the best possible light.

When you're ready to move forward with your defamation case, here's how to find a lawyer who's right for you.