UJI 13-1012. Qualified privilege: Abuse of qualified privilege.

A communication is normally privileged when it consists of a good faith publication in the discharge of a public or private duty. There exists in the law a qualified privilege for communications such as the communication involved in this action. Consequently, for defendant to be liable to plaintiff, plaintiff must prove that defendant abused the privilege. Defendant abused the privilege if one of the following occurred: [Defendant knew the statement was false] [or] [Defendant acted with reckless disregard for the truth or falsity of the statement] [or] [Defendant published the communication for an improper purpose] [or] [Defendant published the communication to a person to whom it was not reasonably necessary to publish it in order to accomplish the proper purpose for which the communication was made] [or] [Defendant published the communication when it was not reasonably necessary to do so to accomplish the proper purpose for which the communication was made] [or] [Defendant did not believe, or did not have reasonable cause to believe, that the communication was true] [or] [....]