If I ran a public protest against Wal-Mart, could I be sued for slander or libel?

Question

On August 28th, 2006, I took my car into my local Wal-Mart's tire and lube express to have my oil changed. Six months after the fact my brakes went out. My mechanic said that he found power steering fluid in the brake lines. He asked me who serviced my car last and I told him Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart denies any wrongdoing. Logic to me is that they were the last ones to service my car; therefore, they screwed up. I plan on wearing two poster boards tied together that each say "I was raped by Wal-Mart". Anybody think I'm safe, or do you think I can be sued for libel or slander?

A little bit more information...My mechanic says that sometimes it can take months for power steering fluid to go thru the entire system and ruin it...btw, Wal-mart tops off power steering fluid...

Answer 1

Follow logic: You had your oil changed. How does that effect you brakes or power steering system? Plus it was SIX MONTHS LATER. I would say the two incidents are seperate and bad luck. If they had swapped your brakes then maybe, but you're talking two different sytems in the same car. Plus you should have had your oil changed within that six month period, but thats another topic. Its like saying you went to the doctor for the flu, then 3 weeks later you were diagnosed with cancer, so its the doctor that gave it to you. Calm down and don't do anything rash.

It can take awhile for it to get through the system, but taking the lid off the resovoir and topping it off, if they actually did, hardly leads to system failure. I think you're trying too hard to link your car problems with bad mechanics, when it seems to be too much of a stretch and more likely standard wear and tear that did it.

Answer 2

That's pretty extreme. There is a limitation on free speech called the "fighting words" doctrine which would apply in this instance. It depends on the laws of your state how police could cite you.

Also, your contention of "power steering fluid in the brake lines was caused by Wal-Mart" isn't logical. There could be many other causes. I'm not a big fan of Wal-Mart but I don't think you have a good case against them.

Skylor Williams

Answer 3

I'm in the same boat. Wal-mart screwed up my car a week ago. Freedom of speech right? If people can preotest for everything else, we should be able to make signs against wal-mart.

Answer 4

I imagine you would get a lot more out of talking to the people at Wal-Mart, rather than protesting outside the store.

Answer 5

Let your city know ahead of time what your doing. They will approve it (you may not be able to put raped on the boards). As long as Walmart can prove they didn't f up, you should be ok. I would advise finding others who also got screwed to give your protest some backbone (if alone people may think your just nuts).

Answer 6

I think that's great!! Sadly, the turnover rate at the TLE department in Walmart is worse than McDonald's. Most of the guys in there don't have a clue or are slackers!!! Don't get your car serviced there, and tell everyone you know not to get their cars done there either. Let Walmart hang itself.

Answer 7

The thing about taking on BIG BUSINESS is ...

they always win. You could say something, if it's true, and even if they sue you, you could fight it. BUT do you have the money to fight it?

But what you're planning on doing is probably just going to get you a lot of honks from passer-bys and Walmart probably won't even notice. Take them to small claims court if you think you have a case.

Answer 8

Since they didn't actually rape you, I think that's asking for trouble. Why not try to reverse NAFTA? If you could get that done, walmart would disappear. I try not to shop there as much as possible for a variety of reasons. It's hard to trust mechanics sometimes. You would be hard pressed to prove that walmart did that in my opinion. Live & learn. I feel your pain.

Answer 9

I wouldnt say u were raped!!!!!!!! But that is messed up! Have u tried talking to the Wal-mart manager?

Answer 10

better not do it, just make a website describing your situation and email it to people, who knows maybe more people will join in and share their horror storys, and wal mart might cave in and give you some money to shut you up.