Utah Code » Title 45, Chapter 2 — Libel
Utah Code

Utah Code § 45-2-2 (2026)

Libel and slander defined

✓ current as of May 2026
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As used in this chapter:

"Libel" means a malicious defamation, expressed either by printing or by signs or pictures or the like, tending to blacken the memory of an individual who is dead, or to impeach the honesty, integrity, virtue or reputation, or publish the natural defects of an individual who is alive, and thereby to expose the individual to public hatred, contempt or ridicule.
"Slander" means any libel communicated by spoken words.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 12 cases, 1988–2020 · leading case: West v. Thomson Newspapers, 872 P.2d 999 (Utah 1994).
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West v. Thomson Newspapers, 872 P.2d 999 (Utah 1994). · cites it 14× “We must accept as true West’s allegations that the statements are false and that their publication resulted in damage.”
West v. Thomson Newspapers, 835 P.2d 179 (Utah Ct. App. 1992). · cites it 12× “Libel is defined in Utah Code Ann. § 45-2-2 (1) (1988) as follows: "Libel" means a malicious defamation, expressed either by printing or by signs or pictures or the like, tending to blacken the memory of one who is dead, or to impeach the honesty, integrity, virtue or…”
Computerized Thermal Imaging, Inc. v. Bloomberg, L.P., 312 F.3d 1292 (10th Cir. 2002). · cites it 2× “A month later, CTI filed suit alleging the Articles “instantaneously published over BLOOMBERG’S website” contained “malicious defamation” tending to impeach the honesty, integrity, virtue or reputation of its business, and, thus, constituted libel under Utah Code Ann. § 45-2-2 .…”
MacArthur v. San Juan Cnty., 416 F. Supp. 2d 1098 (D. Utah 2005). · cites it 4× “2d 814, 818-19, 820-21 (1958); Utah Code Ann. § 45-2-2 (1998); Tracy H. Fowler, Note, Modernizing Defamation Law in Utah, 1980 Utah L.”
Cox v. Hatch, 761 P.2d 556 (Utah 1988). · cites it 2× “Utah Code Ann. § 45-2-2 (1) (1981). Whether the publication of an alleged defamatory statement, the photograph in this case, is capable of conveying a defamatory message is initially a question of law.”
I.M.L. v. State, 61 P.3d 1038 (Utah 2002). · cites it 6× “§ 76-9-501 (2001) with Utah Code Ann. § 45-2-2 (2001). . In the trial court's reading of the criminal libel statute, the term “malicious” in section 502 refers to the common-law definition of malice, whereas the same term in section 501 refers to "actual malice" as defined by…”
Farm Bureau Life Ins. v. Am. Nat'l Ins., 505 F. Supp. 2d 1178 (D. Utah 2007). · cites it 3× “Utah Code Ann. § 45-2-2 (1) (2005). Slander is defined as “any libel communicated by spoken words.”
Jenkins v. Weis, 868 P.2d 1374 (Utah Ct. App. 1994). · cites it 4× “"Libel" means a malicious defamation, expressed either by printing or by signs or pictures or the like, tending to blacken the memory of one who is dead, or to impeach the honesty, integrity, virtue or reputation, or publish the natural defects of one who is alive, and thereby…”
Pipkin v. Acumen, 2020 UT App 111 (Utah Ct. App. 2020). · cites it 2× “See also Utah Code Ann. § 45-2-2 (1)–(2) (LexisNexis 2018) (defining libel as “a malicious defamation, expressed either by printing or by signs or pictures or the like,” and slander as “any libel communicated by spoken words”).”
Mast v. Overson, 971 P.2d 928 (Utah Ct. App. 1998). · cites it 4× “Accord Utah Code Ann. § 45-2-2 (1) (1993). In deciding whether a statement is capable of sustaining a defamatory meaning, “the guiding principle is the statement’s tendency to injure in the eyes of its audience” when viewed in the context in which it was made.”
IML v. State, 2002 UT 110 (Utah 2002). · cites it 6× “§ 76-9-501 (2001) with Utah Code Ann. § 45-2-2 (2001). [9] In the trial court's reading of the criminal libel statute, the term "malicious" in section 502 refers to the common-law definition of malice, whereas the same term in section 501 refers to "actual malice" as defined by…”
Novell, Inc. v. Vigilant Ins. Co., 421 F. App'x 872 (10th Cir. 2011). “” Utah Code Ann. § 45-2-2 (1). Slander is “libel communicated by spoken words.”
— Utah Code § 45-2-2(1) — 1 case
West v. Thomson Newspapers, 872 P.2d 999 (Utah 1994). “We must accept as true West’s allegations that the statements are false and that their publication resulted in damage.”
— Utah Code § 45-2-2(2) — 1 case
Farm Bureau Life Ins. v. Am. Nat'l Ins., 505 F. Supp. 2d 1178 (D. Utah 2007). “Utah Code Ann. § 45-2-2 (1) (2005). Slander is defined as “any libel communicated by spoken words.”
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