Cengage Advantage Books: Law for Business 19th Edition by John Ashcroft,Katherine Ashcroft,Martha Patterson

تمرين 9

When the concluding question in a case problem can be answered simply yes or no, state the legal principle or rule of law that supports your answer.
Shelly Nitz, a real estate agent affiliated with Home Services of Nebraska, Inc., represented the seller of a home. The home purchaser hired Matthew Steinhausen, sole member of Steinhausen Home Inspections, LLC, to perform an inspection prior to closing the home sale. Nitz considered some of the items in Steinhausen's report to be beyond the scope of a typical home inspection and felt his comments were detrimental to the home seller. Some time later, Nitz responded to a question regarding Steinhausen's services via an e-mail forum for Home Services agents. Nitz stated that Steinhausen had done an inspection for one of her listings and that she "would never let him near one of [her] listings ever again!!! Total idiot." Steinhausen sued Nitz and Home Services, alleging libel. Was Nitz's description of Steinhausen as a "total idiot" fact or opinion? Should she be liable?