can I sue for defamation of character?

Question

a so called friend of mine accused me of having an affair with her THEN husband!! this was never proven and was complete bullsh*t that came out of nowhere, she named me in the divorce papers too, think it was accusing me of being the other woman...not sure but I was mentioned in the papers... this happened about 4 years ago...am I still able to persue a case? I have a little bit of money behind me now and was thinking about suing her.. any advice will be most welcome... many thanks

BUT SHE named ME IN THE DIVORCE PAPERS....A LEGAL DOCUMENT!!!

AM IN THE UK BY THE WAY

Answer 1

you can still sue, but it would be a waste of good money, the past is behind you and look forward to utilsing the funds to a more useful end,if you still see her or are in contact avoid her like the plague.,it is obvious that she did not Know the full facts from her investigation and that she must have a biscuit missing from the picnic hamper. GET ON WITH YOUR OWN LIFE

Answer 2

So far, none of the responses you have received inspired any confidence that Yahoo! Answers is a good place to look for legal advice. So you now you get to hear from a real attorney.

Every state that I know of has a "litigation privilege," under which opposing parties can't sue lawyers for statements made during a lawsuit. This also applies to protect parties and witnesses. Here in California, the privilege applies to any communication "required or permitted by law in the course of a judicial proceeding to achieve the objects of the litigation." The privilege protects statements made in and out of court.

Privilege assures free access to courts, promotes truthful testimony, encourages zealous advocacy, and avoids unending litigation. While it is unfortunate that you name was dragged through the mud, there is probably nothing you can do about it.

Answer 3

feels like she had a restraining order placed on you, and in case you violated that ---Its your undesirable. If perchance you extra the action earlier violating the order then perchance you would have more beneficial of a controversy even if it truly is harrassing if she has requested you for no contact and there is a court docket order about it and also you nevertheless make contact...you do not have any status to sue for defamation. also, defamation is meant to bring about some harm to you....for instance she ruins your acceptance via creating pretend or slanderous claims and also you lose consumers because of it...or you dont get a interest because of something she is going and tells your ability employers... sorry guy,,,, you purely want to stay away and forget a friendship.

Answer 4

To sue for defamation of character you will first need to see if you are within the statue of limitations for your State. Four years does not seem to be an unreasonable timeframe. You usually have 10 years to peruse such matters. Secondly, you will need to determine if you even have a case.

Defamation of character entails a person making a false public statement about you and this false statement causes you some loss. You would need to prove to the court that this person actually made such public statement about you. Next you would need to prove that such statement was false. Lastly, you would need to prove to the court that such statement caused you a significant loss (e.g. fired from job, personal divorce etc).

Furthermore, the particular statue for your State may require a culpable mental state on part of your ex-friend. This is to say that she knowingly or with intent to harm you made these statements. Her defense could be that she hired a private detective and the PI told her this information in contract. In this case, her accusations were innocent and you will lose the case.

You will want to do some research first. As far as money goes, request 3-4 free lawyer consultations. If a lawyer feels you have a winning case s/he will represent you for a particle payment from the awarded settlement.

Answer 5

Yes. You would be able to sue for Libel (defamatory statement made in a permanent form ie the divorce papers) and slander if she told other people. Libel is actionable per se (no proof of damage needed) but in this instance so would slander, because of the Slander of Women Act 1891, which states that any slander imputing that a woman is an adulteress or unchaste.

It is important that you can prove that the statement refers to YOU, and that its reasonable for people to deduce that it is you. You will need to prove that the statement has lowered the opinion of you in the minds of right thinking members of society (thats what the jurys there for, because they are suppossed to be right minded thinkers of society, and they can decide if the statement would have lowered their opinion of you.

Got to say sky looks to me like somebody jsut copied their answer from a text book or something, without citing their source

Answer 6

if you have no damage, economic or otherwise, since if your not in the public eye, then if your just an ordinary citizen, then the expense to do so if not worth it, and you may not get anything since, unless it was some major divorce case, then and only then the judgement will be accesible to you.

Is your ex friend worth suing, the limitation for this action i think is quite short as mentioned so you may barred from taking action,
get on with your life, no solicitor in their professional mind will take a case based on what you have said here, and no one will even do anything for free as other people are suggesting.

Answer 7

You know if you have the $ you can sue but really for the best interest of your mental health maybe the best thing here is to forgive her in that you will quit letting this act keep eating your lunch

Answer 8

Yes you could but it would be difficult to prove and even if successful you would probably only be awarded a nominal sum (unlikely to cover your costs). If you have a twisted sense of humour and are determined to get back at her I'd drop rumours that you've already had her present boyfriend or partner.

Answer 9

It seems a long time ago and to take action now will bring it to the fore again.
This man 'did he dispute the affidavit? this and many other questions will be asked. If it still hurts and you want it resolved go to http://www.legal-definitions.com/?gclid=CPrRx-Hf8IYCFRxuMAodTEJ7GA and put your question to them. your local CAB might be able to help.
you can look for a local solicitor who takes free initial consultations and ask, but it will cost to take up the case, which may not be resolved.
"Daddy Dave"

Answer 10

Forget it!!! - Since Legal Aid is not available for libel or slander - no (good) Solicitor is likely to touch it unless you hand him a minimum of £5000 - and that's just his initial retainer - you need to be faily or very rich to issue those sort of proceedings.

There are other ways of revenge ......... !!!!!!