As used in this article, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

(1) COVERED CONTRACT. Any written employment separation, termination, or post-employment settlement or release agreement written solely for that purpose; any written business relationship termination agreement written solely for that purpose; and any written settlement between parties to a legal dispute written solely for that purpose, whether before, during, or after litigation, and the provisions thereof.
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Terms Used In Alabama Code 8-1-221

  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
  • following: means next after. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • person: includes a corporation as well as a natural person. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • property: includes both real and personal property. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
  • writing: includes typewriting and printing on paper. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
(2) DISPARAGING STATEMENT. Any statement that does any of the following:

a. Discredits or detracts from the reputation of a person‘s property, product, services, or business.
b. Diminishes or depreciates a person by direct or indirect comparisons to anything invidious, scandalous, criminal, or loathsome.
c. Raises doubts or questions about the quality, integrity, honesty, or character of a person or the person’s affiliations.
d. Discredits or detracts from the reputation of another’s character, property, product, or business by disclosing truthful but private information.
e. Discredits or detracts from the reputation of another’s character, property, product, or business by disclosing truthful, but non-public information, or information gained within the context of a fiduciary relationship between the parties not otherwise protected by a trade secret statute.
f. Is knowingly or recklessly made by a party that has clear and direct information that the statement was plainly false or misleading by its unreasonable incompleteness and that the communication of the misleading information would cause specific loss.
(3) LIQUIDATED DAMAGES. The dollar sum that the parties have by the covered contract fixed or assessed as damages to be paid as compensation for a breach of contract.
(4) PERSON. An individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, public corporation, government, government subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial entity.
(5) STATEMENT. Spoken words, remarks, comments, publications, opinions, and other expressions delivered orally, in writing, or through websites, blogs, postings to the Internet, emails, texts, or by other electronic means, whether done publicly or privately in one’s own name, anonymously, or through the use of a pseudonym.
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