Also known as: per se errors · per se
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A rule or doctrine that applies automatically upon proof of specified facts, without any additional showing of harm, prejudice, or balancing of interests.
Paula Pierce published statements about Parker Phillips that were not defamatory on their face. The statements led directly to Phillips losing a key business contract. Phillips recovered damages because the publication was the legal cause of the special harm even though the slander was not actionable per se.
Penelope Price owned land that a new zoning rule rendered unusable for any economically beneficial purpose. The court treated the regulation as a per se taking requiring just compensation because it left Price with no productive use of the property.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Pablo Perez published a written statement that harmed Perry Pratt's reputation. Pratt recovered nominal damages automatically because the publication was a libel for which the defendant is liable without proof of actual harm.
Pilar Pena could not develop her property during a short government moratorium. The court declined to find a per se taking and instead weighed the moratorium's duration and purpose against Pena's expectations to decide whether compensation was required.
Peak Performance published spoken statements about Progressive Healthcare that were actionable per se. Progressive recovered for the special harm that followed because the defendant is liable for any special harm legally caused by the defamatory publication.
Prime Logistics retained Prism Analytics to handle one matter while Prism simultaneously opposed Prime in an unrelated dispute. The court found a per se conflict of interest that was presumptively improper absent informed consent from both clients.
The plaintiff must prove that the publication was the legal cause of special harm. Without that showing, there is no liability even if the statements were false.
A regulation is a per se taking when it deprives the owner of all economically beneficial use of the land unless background nuisance principles already prohibited the use at the time of acquisition.
The defendant is liable for at least nominal damages. The plaintiff may also recover proved actual harm and any special harm legally caused by the publication.
No. Courts examine the duration of the restriction, the government's planning purposes, the owner's expectations, and effects on value to decide whether compensation is required.
A firm may not represent one client in one matter and oppose that same client in another matter even if the matters are unrelated. The conflict is presumptively improper absent informed consent.
…confirms that the sodomy statute is directed toward homosexuals as a class. In Texas, calling a person a homosexual is slander per se because the word "homosexual" "impute[s] the commission of a crime." Plumley v. Landmark Chevrolet, Inc. , 122 F. 3d 308, 310 (CA5 1997) (applying Texas law); see also Head v. Newton ,…