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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