From Black's Law Dictionary:
Disparagement n. 1. A derogatory comparison of one thing with another <the disparagement consisted in comparing the acknowledged liar to a murderer>. 2. The act or an instance of castigating or detracting from the reputation of, esp. unfairly or untruthfully <when she told the press the details of her husband's philandering, her statements amounted to disparagement>. 3. A false and injurious statement that discredits or detracts from the reputation of another's property, product or business. To recover in tort for disparagement. the plaintiff must prove that the statement caused a third party to take some action resulting in specific pecuniary loss to the plaintiff. -- Also termed injurious falsehood. -- More narrowly termed slander of title; trade libel; slander of goods. See TRADE DISPARAGEMENT. Cf. commercial defamation under DEFAMATION. [Cases: Libel and Slander KeyCite 130, 133. C.J.S. Libel and Slander; Injurious Falsehood ยงยง204-206, 209.] 4. Reproach, disgrace, or indignity <self-importance is a disparagement of greatness>. 5. Hist. The act or an instance of pairing an heir in marriage with someone of an inferior social rank <the guardian's arranging for the heir's marriage to a chimney sweep amounted to disparagement>. -- disparage, vb.
(Westlaw is down, so I had to hand type this from my hard copy, so any errors are from my typing).
-Dan On Apr 12, 2008, at 9:05 AM, Thomas Dalton wrote:
Still, when someone has signed a document where it is stated that should he disparage (whatever that means) a board member, a staff member or the Foundation generally, he will be led in court, I expect that a board member will think double before raising a touchy issue; and might prefer closing his eyes to possibly getting in trouble.
The agreement didn't define "disparage"? In that case, is there a standard legal definition which is more precise than the everyday one? (I guess that question is directed at Mike.)
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