California Codes
Cal. Civil Code § 46 (2026)
✓ current as of May 2026
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Slander is a false and unprivileged publication, orally uttered, and also communications by radio or any mechanical or other means which:
1.Charges any person with crime, or with having been indicted, convicted, or punished for crime;
2.Imputes in him the present existence of an infectious, contagious, or loathsome disease;
3.Tends directly to injure him in respect to his office, profession, trade or business, either by imputing to him general disqualification in those respects which the office or other occupation peculiarly requires, or by imputing something with reference to his office, profession, trade, or business that has a natural tendency to lessen its profits;
4.Imputes to him impotence or a want of chastity; or
5.Which, by natural consequence, causes actual damage.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 145
cases (29 in the last 5 years), 1954–2026 · leading case: Crowe v. Cnty. of San Diego, 608 F.3d 406 (9th Cir. 2010).
Crowe v. Cnty. of San Diego, 608 F.3d 406 (9th Cir. 2010). “State Law Defamation California Civil Code § 44 defines “defamation” as either libel or slander.”
Marcelo Rodriguez v. Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou, 314 F.3d 979 (9th Cir. 2002). “3 Rodriguez contends that these statements are slanderous per se under California Civil Code § 46 because they accuse him of committing the crime of engaging in a lewd act in a public place and of participating in conduct that would disqualify him from serving as a police…”
Garcia v. City of Merced, 637 F. Supp. 2d 731 (E.D. Cal. 2008). “A slander per se action is different from a libel per se action in that California case law has held four specific types of statements constitute slander per se, as prescribed by Cal. Civ.Code § 46: *756 any “false and unprivileged publication, orally uttered” that: (1) Charges…”
Mann v. Quality Old Time Serv., Inc., 15 Cal. Rptr. 3d 215 (Cal. Ct. App. 2004). “Code, § 44), consisting of a false *224 and unprivileged oral publication (Civ.Code, § 46). To establish a prima facie case for slander, a plaintiff must demonstrate an oral publication to third persons of specified false matter that has a natural tendency to injure or that…”
Kimoanh Nguyen-Lam v. Sinh Cuong Cao, 171 Cal. App. 4th 858 (Cal. Ct. App. 2009). “Imputes in him the present existence of an infectious, contagious, or loathsome disease; [¶] 3.”
Crowe v. Cnty. of San Diego, 593 F.3d 841 (9th Cir. 2010). “State Law Defamation California Civil Code § 44 defines “defamation” as either libel or slander.”
Molien v. Kaiser Found. Hospitals, 616 P.2d 813 (Cal. 1980). “Molien and the conduct flowing therefrom are objectively verifiable actions by the defendants that foreseeably elicited serious emotional responses in the plaintiff and hence serve as a measure of the validity of plaintiff's claim *931 for emotional distress.”
Nethercutt Collection v. Regalia, 28 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 1562 (Cal. Ct. App. 2009). “Slander Civil Code section 46 provides, “Slander is a false and unprivileged publication, orally uttered, and also communications by radio or any mechanical or other means which: [][] 1.”
Duste v. Chevron Prods. Co., 738 F. Supp. 2d 1027 (N.D. Cal. 2010). “) In response, Plaintiff argues that it is clear that Tim Black and “other Chevron employees” slandered him in violation of their “duty,” because “everyone has a duty to refrain from publishing false statements that tend to injure another in his or her profession.”
Condit v. Dunne, 317 F. Supp. 2d 344 (S.D.N.Y. 2004). “” Cal. Civ.Code § 46 (“Slander, false and unprivileged publications which constitute”); see Rodriguez, 314 F.”
Barker v. Fox & Assocs., 240 Cal. App. 4th 333 (Cal. Ct. App. 2015). “” Civil Code section 46 provides: “Slander is a false and unprivileged publication, orally uttered .”
Okun v. Superior Court, 629 P.2d 1369 (Cal. 1981). “[4] Civil Code section 46 defines slander as follows: "Slander is a false and unprivileged publication, orally uttered, and also communications by radio or any mechanical or other means which: 1.”
— Cal. Civil Code § 46(1) — 11 cases
Crowe v. Cnty. of San Diego, 608 F.3d 406 (9th Cir. 2010). “State Law Defamation California Civil Code § 44 defines “defamation” as either libel or slander.”
Crowe v. Cnty. of San Diego, 593 F.3d 841 (9th Cir. 2010). “State Law Defamation California Civil Code § 44 defines “defamation” as either libel or slander.”
Mann v. Quality Old Time Serv., Inc., 15 Cal. Rptr. 3d 215 (Cal. Ct. App. 2004). “Code, § 44), consisting of a false *224 and unprivileged oral publication (Civ.Code, § 46). To establish a prima facie case for slander, a plaintiff must demonstrate an oral publication to third persons of specified false matter that has a natural tendency to injure or that…”
Marcelo Rodriguez v. Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou, 314 F.3d 979 (9th Cir. 2002). “3 Rodriguez contends that these statements are slanderous per se under California Civil Code § 46 because they accuse him of committing the crime of engaging in a lewd act in a public place and of participating in conduct that would disqualify him from serving as a police…”
Crowe v. Cnty. of San Diego, 303 F. Supp. 2d 1050 (S.D. Cal. 2004).
— Cal. Civil Code § 46(2) — 1 case
Garcia v. City of Merced, 637 F. Supp. 2d 731 (E.D. Cal. 2008). “A slander per se action is different from a libel per se action in that California case law has held four specific types of statements constitute slander per se, as prescribed by Cal. Civ.Code § 46: *756 any “false and unprivileged publication, orally uttered” that: (1) Charges…”
— Cal. Civil Code § 46(3) — 3 cases
Barker v. Fox & Assocs., 240 Cal. App. 4th 333 (Cal. Ct. App. 2015). “” Civil Code section 46 provides: “Slander is a false and unprivileged publication, orally uttered .”
Duste v. Chevron Prods. Co., 738 F. Supp. 2d 1027 (N.D. Cal. 2010). “) In response, Plaintiff argues that it is clear that Tim Black and “other Chevron employees” slandered him in violation of their “duty,” because “everyone has a duty to refrain from publishing false statements that tend to injure another in his or her profession.”
Garcia v. City of Merced, 637 F. Supp. 2d 731 (E.D. Cal. 2008). “A slander per se action is different from a libel per se action in that California case law has held four specific types of statements constitute slander per se, as prescribed by Cal. Civ.Code § 46: *756 any “false and unprivileged publication, orally uttered” that: (1) Charges…”
— Cal. Civil Code § 46(4) — 1 case
Garcia v. City of Merced, 637 F. Supp. 2d 731 (E.D. Cal. 2008). “A slander per se action is different from a libel per se action in that California case law has held four specific types of statements constitute slander per se, as prescribed by Cal. Civ.Code § 46: *756 any “false and unprivileged publication, orally uttered” that: (1) Charges…”
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