My brother owns a bar…its actually one of the nicer ones in the state. We have some of the top local bands playing and is really a hot spot among people who attend happy hours. Well, last week my brother noticed sales of alcohol were WAY down one night even though the place was PACKED. Upon investigation, our bathroom attendant notified us that some customer started a false rumor of a DWI checkpoint outside the bar while in the bathroom. Apparently, this rumor spread so quickly that the band even made an announcement notifying all the people there to 'be prepared' We guesstimate this rumor cost the bar close to ten thousand dollars. We have a good idea of who spreaded this horrible rumor and want to sue him in a court of law for lost income…our bathroom attendant can identify him…do we have a case?
2006-12-22 02:55:29 · 12 answers · asked by Yeeeeezzzzz 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Law Enforcement & Police
It is only slander if the intent was to harm you, and not to protect your patrons!
2006-12-22 03:05:29 · answer #1 · answered by Anarchy99 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Maybe you do, however, you should count this as being a good thing. Given all of the other bad things that can happen in a bar to cost you money, a rumor about a police checkpoint isn't the worse thing that can happen. And also know that there can and will be many more rumors that you will encounter that will be far worse.
Perhaps there really could have been a checkpoint early on and then eventually it had to be shut down because there was a bigger crime on the other side of town that needed their attention.
Also, it would have been a really bad situation had there been a checkpoint and nobody knew about it. If they had made enough arrests, you would have been held liable for all of those people being too intoxicated to drive.
2006-12-22 03:05:35 · answer #2 · answered by Joe K 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Defamation is written or spoken injury to a person or organization's reputation. Libel is the written act of defamation, vs. slander, the oral act of defamation. This is neither libel , defamation or slander. Because the rumor was not said or written about the the owner or the establishment. However you can still sue the person for negligence or at least contributory negligence. An attorney can help you with this or you can file in small claims court if the amount is within the proper limits in your district or state. However, the burden of proof will be on you. You will have to have witnesses to say this person told them the rumor and you will have to obtain proof that there wasn't a checkpoint there at all on that particular night. In addition, you will have to prove that there was intent or malice; meaning that the person told this in an effort to get the customers to leave and thus, cause the establishment to suffer some type of harm (in this case, loss of income.)
Here's a couple of links to better explain the negligence terms:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negligence
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contributory_negligence
(I work in litigation)
2006-12-22 02:59:48 · answer #3 · answered by Melli 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You dont have a case, sorry.
Checkpoints are a reality, and if its "outside' The bar or 20 miles down the road, its up to the patrons to either heed the warning (as they know this time of year, there are going to be a lot more dwi checkpoints because of drinking and partying).
And he isn't slandering or libeling anyone. Hes giveing a warning to people to be careful. IF it hurt your brothers business, then he wasn't adequately prepared
YOUR brother should be aware from a business standpoint that this time of year is going to be affected by the increase in police patroling and dui/dwi checkpoints. So he should have made it his best effort to offer non-alcoholic drinks and / or push goods that would make him money, but not impair his customers
YOU do not have a case.
2006-12-22 03:02:59 · answer #4 · answered by arus.geo 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
No. You would be wasting time and money. If he started the rumors it may have been as a joke or to get back at you for some reason. But the part that is laughable, is that your clientle believed the rumor. The person that started didn't stop your clientle from drinking, they did it all on themselves. So if your going to sue anone, it should be your clientle, for being GULLIBLE.
In some respects this individual did you a favor. Should one of your clientle go to your establishment and partake in alcoholic beverages and have a good time. He/she had to much to drink because you kept serving the alcohol to him/her. They go out to go home and get involved in a crash or some other act. The possiblility of coming back to sue you is a possibility. Had you not served them the alcohol to the extent that they got drunk, this would't have happened. So in some respects this person helped you out. Like it or not.
2006-12-22 16:23:08 · answer #5 · answered by hoosiernumber1daddy 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I doubt any attorney will take your case. In order for it to be slander you would have to prove that it was untrue. Can you do that? You would also have to prove that the person said it with malicious intent. How can you prove that? And then, is the person who said it responsible for other people spreading it? I would be curious why your bathroom attendant didn't stop it when it first said or come to you immediately?
2006-12-22 03:20:52 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hard for me to believe a "bar" could lose 10,000.00 dollars in liquor revenue in one night! A large night club, possibly, but a bar,no way. And it is possible that there was a DWI check point somewhere outside. Anyway it would not come under title of "slander". Forget it, take your lumps and move on....
2006-12-22 03:05:45 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
This might be the dumbest sh*t I've ever heard. No, you have no case. The fact that someone encouraged your brother's patrons to drink responsibly, costing him business, doesn't entitle him to anything. he shouldn't be allowing people to drink to the point that they're too impaired to drive, to begin with. It's nice to know that you guys don't give a sh*t about what happens to your customers after they leave his establishment, you just want them to keep buying drinks.
2006-12-22 20:49:59 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
i am not sure if you have a valid suit, but the person will get into some legal trouble i think. you are not allowed to warn others of a police check point. have you ever been driving and someone coming from the opposite direction blinks his lights at you to let you know there is a cop ahead? well that is illegal. if you accidentally do it to another cop you will get a ticket.
2006-12-22 03:01:06 · answer #9 · answered by mel2430 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋
You can ALWAYS sue! That is your right! But if you'll win depends on the judge!
Rember a while ago a girl sued McDonald's because their coffee was too hot and burnt her? However ridiculous it was, she won!
2006-12-22 03:05:27 · answer #10 · answered by mr_sizzelin 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋