Section 51-5-4. Slander defined; when special damage required; when damage inferred

   (a) Slander or oral defamation consists in:

   (1) Imputing to another a crime punishable by law;

   (2) Charging a person with having some contagious disorder or with being guilty of some debasing act which may exclude him from society;

   (3) Making charges against another in reference to his trade, office, or profession, calculated to injure him therein; or

   (4) Uttering any disparaging words productive of special damage which flows naturally therefrom.

(b) In the situation described in paragraph (4) of subsection (a) of this Code section, special damage is essential to support an action; in the situations described in paragraphs (1) through (3) of subsection (a) of this Code section, damage is inferred.

Orig. Code 1863, § 2919; Code 1868, § 2926; Code 1873, § 2977; Code 1882, § 2977; Civil Code 1895, § 3837; Civil Code 1910, § 4433; Code 1933, § 105-702.