{"data":{"id":"us-ca/civ-45a","jurisdiction":"us-ca","citation":"CIV § 45a","heading":"","body":"A libel which is defamatory of the plaintiff without the necessity of explanatory matter, such as an inducement, innuendo or other extrinsic fact, is said to be a libel on its face. Defamatory language not libelous on its face is not actionable unless the plaintiff alleges and proves that he has suffered special damage as a proximate result thereof. Special damage is defined in Section 48a of this code.","path":["Civil Code - CIV","DIVISION 1. PERSONS [38. - 86.]","PART 2. PERSONAL RIGHTS [43. - 53.7.]"],"source_url":"https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zip","current_through":"2026-09-13","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T05:56:33Z","sha256":"3aae6cf724407922e6619f05f857b16a2510a2356daf5604f5ac07e65032b91e","source_id":"us-ca","stale":false,"prev":"us-ca/civ-45","next":"us-ca/civ-46"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}