Questions tagged [defamation]
Tortious damage to a reputation. When the defamation is specifically written use "libel"; use "slander" when it is specifically spoken.
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When a party is taken to court for defamation that already occurred, what is the request to the judge to do?
There was an incident where my employer claimed I did something (which I didn't do) that led to someone getting injured. They seemed to have investigated the issue internally but came to the wrong ...
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Can true statements or statements of opnion be libel or defamation in any country?
This is inspired by this thread on Writing.SE.
Under US law, a true statement can never be defamatory, and neither can a statement of opinion, as opposed to a factual statement.
Are there any ...
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Can you get sued for talking badly about a co-worker at work?
Can you get sued for talking badly about a co-worker at work? If you talk to your CEO and mention that the tech lead he hired is terrible and doesn't know what he's talking about, can you get sued for ...
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What Privacy Protections Does an Employee Reporting Sexual Harassment Have in Oregon?
Several discussions I’ve had recently about a series of events have made me wonder about some of the legal issues they raise. I was fortunate not to be personally involved, and don’t need advice on ...
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In modern day America, why are libel, slander and defamation covered by separate laws?
In 21st century America the laws governing libel, slander and defamation are wholly separate even through they overlap in substantial areas, rather than there being a single law covering all three. Is ...
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Can victims of defamation get restitution from people who acted on the defamatory statements?
Alice accuses Bob of animal abuse. She uses her moderate social media following to harass Bob and get him fired, by having dozens of people call his job and demand to know why they employ an animal ...
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Is calling abortionist criminals defamation?
According to well-established precedent, Texas' heartbeat bill is not valid law. Is it therefore defamation to claim that those who violate it are "breaking the law"? Also, even if the bill ...
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Legal response to vaccination misinformation?
With Dominion's defamation suit against Lindell et al, I got to thinking that companies making vaccines should have similar standing to sue prominent disseminators of vaccine misinformation. They can ...
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How do I warn people about a scammer/swindler who has not yet been indicted wihout being defamatory?
I live in Australia. There is this person who cheats people all the time through devious schemes and convincing talks. I myself lost a few thousands of dollars from him. Two of my friends lost $50,000 ...
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How do news outlets avoid defamation lawsuits when they publish articles about alleged criminals?
News outlets are always publishing sensational stories about people who have not yet been convicted but just suspected of a crime.....
The person loses his job and at worst, creates a 'Trial by Media' ...
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I am being threatened for defamation for sharing an article about an alleged scammer which was published in local news site
There is an alleged scammer in my community. An article about him was published by our local news site.
As I have a lot of contacts, I shared the article to all my contacts and it became viral. He is ...
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How can I protect myself of building a university review website
Suppose that a developer builds a website that let students write reviews of their university.
It seems possible that such a site might get lawsuits from the universities if there are some negative ...
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How is "publication" different in copyright and defamation cases
There has been some confusion here on Law.Stack exchange as to whether "publication" or "publish" has the same meaning in defamation cases as it does in copyright cases.
I am ...
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Does the word "allegedly" shield from defamation claims?
If Bob publicly says "Rob killed Alice", Rob could sue (and win) Bob for defamation — unless Rob gets convicted for that crime.
But if Bob instead says "Rob allegedly killed Alice" ...
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Is there a (legal) problem with publishing a claim that a dead person said or believed something they didn't?
I just discovered a book called "The Secret Behind 'The Rape of Nanking': A Spiritual Confession by Iris Chang" by Ryuho Okawa. A small bit of background: Iris Chang's impressive and well-...
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For showing a deceased person under a negative light, can you get sued for defamation by relatives of the person deceased?
Let's say you make a movie and you show a deceased person under a negative light, can you get sued successfully by his relatives, and does the success of a lawsuit get diminished if the movie is a ...
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If a tort occurs over social media, does the Plaintiff's state have personal jurisdiction over the defendant?
Say person A lives in one state, and person B was harassing them on social media. Person A wants to sue for both libel and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Would the harassment (B making ...
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How much detail does one include in a complaint?
I literally spent the entire day working on my complaint, but just read (on avvo) that providing too much detail can get the suit dismissed. My complaint recounts each detail of the situation in order ...
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If one is suing for libel, would they just list "libel" in the "claims for relief" section in a complaint, or would the specify the type of libel?
If one is suing for libel, do they just write "libel" in the "claims for relief" section of the complaint or do they specify libel per se or libel per quod? Furthermore, can one ...
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Does one have to name third parties in a lawsuit?
If someone is indirectly involved in a case but not a defendant, do they have to be specified by name in the complaint? For example, say person A asks their neighbor, person B, if they can borrow five ...
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How Would One Prove That Their Rejection From an Education Program is the Result of Defamatory Content?
edited to generalized the question
If someone is claiming that they were rejected from an education program because of defamatory content, how do they provide evidence to substantiate this claim? (...
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What is required for a slander lawsuit?
Suppose there is a group of people being contacted by an outside agency at the business they are working at. The outside agency is lying about a particular employee's behavior and convincing this ...
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Can you post a picture in your business to embarrass or defame a customer?
I paid a debt to the late husband of a woman who now owns the local hardware store. Without talking to me about the debt, she posted my photograph of me that she copied off my Facebook account. She ...
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Can using a "simile" constitute defamation?
Suppose someone said, "X looks like someone with a venereal disease." That is known as a simile.
Now "X has a venereal disease" would constitute defamation (if untrue). But the ...
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Does a property owner have liability for signs others post in her yard?
Someone has a house with a yard that is close to a high-traffic street. People often post signs on the corner of this person's yard to advertise yard sales, political campaigns, and more. This is done ...
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Are there exceptions to the "reasonable person" standard?
In Dominion v. Sidney Powell, the defense has invoked the reasonable person standard. It is my understanding that Powell's First Amendment right is not tested as the plaintiff is Dominion Voting ...
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What kinds of insults would result and have resulted in someone being imprisoned in Germany?
Just read in the Wikipedia Article on Insult that you could be punished for up to one year in prison for insulting someone in Germany. What kinds of insults, assuming that they are free of false ...
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Do changing social norms change the definition of "defamation?"
One hundred years ago, if you said that "Miss X is not a virgin," when in fact she was, that would be grounds for a defamation suit. The reason is that because 80%+ of unmarried American ...
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Is criticizing a public figure on a private chat libel?
X is currently involved in a legal battle with said ex-wife regarding child abuse by parental alienation of his child. X, with a friend in a similar position, created a private support group on ...
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If someone does not downvote defamatory post does that mean they endorse it?
If someone does not downvote defamatory posts on Stackexchange are they liable for defamation under Indian Penal code? I am refering to section 499 and section 500.
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Who is responsible for comments on YouTube?
Who is responsible for comments which are posted on YouTube? The channel, YouTube or the poster? I am refering to defamation and copyright suits in India. As both YouTube and the video uploader ...
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When multiple people are included in the same defamation lawsuit, do they get sued separately or all together?
Let's say two employees for a toy company talk about a company's product being dangerously unsafe (regardless if was true or not) on a news channel. The same toy company goes on later on to file a ...
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Why is it said that pre-trial procedures are "heavily skewed in favour of a plaintiff" in cases of defamation in Australia?
After losing a defamation lawsuit, ABC (Australia) said in a statement that
This case has again starkly demonstrated fundamental problems with Australian defamation law and pre-trial procedures being ...
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Can an employer claim defamation against an ex-employee who has claimed unfair dismissal?
In UK law, in a case where an ex-employee claims unfair dismissal against their previous employer. However both claimant and employer settle before Tribunal Hearings through negotiation of a COT3 ...
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As a Sex offender Can a person for take my Photo off my Facebook page, post it, giving my full name and address be charged or sued? [closed]
I pleaded guilty to a charge of child molestation over 15 years ago, served time and probation. I now have three girls 7,5,2 who I father on my own. My neighbor's daughter play's with my girls, who's ...
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Is it legal to record your parents at home?
Is it legal for a minor to make an audio recording of his parents engaging in abuse?
If so, is it also legal once that child is an adult for him to publicize those recordings?
Interested in U.S. law, ...
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Defence to defamation where the alleged crime has expired
In 2010, Rob stole a bicycle from Bob. Bob did not know whodoneit.
In 2020, Bob finds out that it was Rob. Bob obtains evidence sufficient to prove that beyond reasonable doubt.
However, the time to ...
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Can an estate sue for defamation over statement made before decedent died?
According to the answers to this question you can't be (successfully) sued for statements you make about someone who is already dead. But what if you said something defamatory about John Doe while he ...
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How to talk about your family/parents without saying if it's your Mother or Father specifically? Any legal issues for writing about your parent(s)?
Reformulated in other's words (thank you commenters, mods please preserve the comments as originally posted so you can read the source), my question is:
(A) Is referring to a parent specifically ...
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A plaintiff's "not guilty" verdict in a defamation suit
Scenario: John Doe is charged with murder, tried before a jury, and gets a "not guilty" verdict. After the verdict I publish commentary saying that the jury got it wrong and Doe is ...
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How does one meet the "serious harm" threshold in libel cases (UK)?
I'm trying to sue someone in the UK for libel. (I'm in the US.) I've had some UK attorneys willing to take my case, but not on conditional fee. I recently contacted a pro bono organization there, and ...
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What legal action can you take if someone calls you a sex offender with no proof?
Just went through a nasty custody battle and won sole custody and he has taken it upon himself to call my fiance a sexual abusive person to our 2 yr old child. He has blasted it on social media and ...
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Is it Cyber defamation and cyber insult crime to talk about someone else in the private chat?
So me and my friends had a group chat and we were talking about someone not in the group chat. We gave her some funny nickname but we never said it publicly. It was all in the private group chat thats ...
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When can you file a lawsuit against a "parody" website?
Hypothetically speaking, if someone were to make a website about 4 different lawyers and 2 different firms and promote it as a parody website using elements of breaking bad, better call saul, etc.
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Can I sue a publication for using my picture in an unflattering light?
I was walking down the street with my boyfriend a photographer asked if he could take a picture of us. We agreed and he snapped the photo and left. No consent forms were signed. Now the photo is being ...
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Could a poll's claimed results be defamatory?
In the Trump campaign's letter demanding that CNN retract its poll claiming Biden leads Trump, the letter claims:
The poll is intentionally false, defamatory and misleading, and designed to harm ...
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Sandy Hook defamation case and opinions based on disclosed facts
(Note that I 100% think the Sandy Hook shootings were 100% real.)
From a BBC article:
In June a Wisconsin judge ruled that James Fetzer had defamed Leonard Pozner by claiming he had fabricated the ...
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Is it legal to short a company's stock and then blog about why you did it?
In America, is it legal to short a company with which I never had any affiliation and then write a negative blog post about it affecting the company's stock price?
More specifically, suppose ...
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Argument on possible defamation after court acquittal
I have been discussing some reporting of a high-profile trial with some colleagues.
We disagree on one point.
Background: High-profile figure acquitted by a Scottish court of a number of sexual ...
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Does the Trump campaign have standing to sue over defamation against Trump?
The NY Times, the Washington Post and, most recently, CNN, are being sued for defaming Trump. However:
As with the other two cases, this one is being brought on behalf of the campaign, rather than ...
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