Which defence reduces liability when the plaintiff contributed to the harm?

• A. Contributory negligence
• B. Absolute privilege
• C. Truth (justification)
• D. Honest opinion

Answer: (A)

Contributory negligence is the defense that applies when the plaintiff’s own carelessness helped cause the harm. If you’re bringing a negligence claim, showing that the plaintiff failed to take reasonable steps to protect themselves means the defendant isn’t liable for all of the damages—liability is shared, so the court reduces the defendant’s responsibility by the plaintiff’s share of fault (and in some systems, if the plaintiff is mostly at fault, they might not recover at all). This directly explains why liability isn’t all on the defendant when the plaintiff contributed to the harm.

The other options relate to defamation and speech protections (absolute privilege, truth/justification, honest opinion) and don’t address fault for harm caused by someone’s actions, so they’re not the relevant defense here.