Raul was shocked to hear the news on Friday morning. Sofia had received the promotion he had been seeking for the last two years. Besides a significant increase in pay, the promotion was for a position that provided greater professional exposure and an opportunity to climb the corporation ladder within the company.

Raul believed that he was more qualified than Sofia. He had more education and experience than Sofia, and in his current position, he had more responsibilities than Amanda had in her position. Raul suspected that Sofia may have had a romantic relationship with the decisionmaker, Roberto. Besides Raul observing workplace interactions between Sofia and Roberto, Raul had heard workplace gossip about their suspected romantic relationship.

After spending the weekend thinking about his failed promotion, Raul decided to confront Sofia about the promotion. On Monday morning, Raul entered Sofia$$s office and accused her of receiving the coveted promotion only because of her romantic relationship with Roberto. Sofia emphatically denied the accusation. The exchange between Raul and Sofia was so heated and loud that others in nearby offices heard their entire conversation.

Sofia was shocked by Raul$$s accusation and felt that she had no choice but to take legal action to defend herself from the lie. She was especially concerned that co$-$workers had heard the conversation in her office and felt that Raul$$s accusation will be damaging to her professionally.

Feeling she has no choice, Sofia hires an attorney, and the attorney files a lawsuit against you. Because you are studying business law, Raul approaches you for advice about the tort of defamation.

In answering the questions below, assume the following:

Multiple people have told Raul that Sofia and Roberto have been in a romantic relationship. Assume this is true.

The real reason for Sofia$$s promotion had nothing to do with Roberto. Last year, Sofia had reported sexual misconduct by a high$-$ranking corporate official. In return for Sofia agreeing not to take legal action against the company and to keep the misconduct complaint confidential, the company agreed to promote Sofia.

Provide your response in four paragraphs.

Paragraph $1$: Define the two types of defamation and explain their differences. What type of defamation is Sofia likely alleging in her lawsuit against Raul?

Paragraph $2$: What are the elements of a defamation claim as alleged by Sofia?

Paragraph $3$: What are the most common defenses to defamation liability?

Paragraph $4$: As between Sofia and Raul, who will likely prevail in Sofia$$s lawsuit, and why?