Statute of Limitations for Libel, Slander, Defamation in Ohio

O.R.C. 2305.11(A) states that “[a]n action for libel [or] slander * * * shall be commenced within one year after the cause of action accrued[.]” A cause of action for slander accrues from the time the slanderous remarks are spoken, whether the defamed person has knowledge of the fact or not. Lyons v. Farmers Ins. Group of Cos. (1990), 67 Ohio App.3d 448, 450, 587 N.E.2d 362. A cause of action for libel accrues when the written words are first published. Reimund v. Brown (Nov. 2, 1995), Franklin App. No. 95APE04-487, 1995 WL 643939, at * 3.

O.R.C. 2305.11(A) states that “[a]n action for libel [or] slander * * * shall be commenced within one year after the cause of action accrued[.]” A cause of action for slander accrues from the time the slanderous remarks are spoken, whether the defamed person has knowledge of the fact or not. Lyons v. Farmers Ins. Group of Cos. (1990), 67 Ohio App.3d 448, 450, 587 N.E.2d 362. A cause of action for libel accrues when the written words are first published. Reimund v. Brown (Nov. 2, 1995), Franklin App. No. 95APE04-487, 1995 WL 643939, at * 3.

In Daubenmire v. Sommers, 805 N.E.2d 571 (Ohio Ct. App.12 2004), a former high school football coach’s defamation action against high school principal accrued, and one-year statute of limitations began to run, when principal made allegedly defamatory statement to school board, rather than when newspaper subsequently quoted portions of principal’s statement to board.