is this defimation?

Question

I was arrested in my home town, a retail store said that i had stolen an item, I went to court and the case was dismissed due to a lack of evidence.
I just applied for a job and was told that a comsumer report stated that i stole a Item from a retail store and that they could not hire me due to this.
my question is is this defimation, and how much should i sue for.
also when i was accused of stealing this item i was also terminated from my job due to the fact that i had stolen a cd from one of my stores.
should i sue for anything else other then defimation, like wrong full arrest or since their aligations caused me to lose my job

thank you for your help

I did not steal a cd but was accused of stealing a cd from a retail store and lost my job due to their accusations, i went to court and the charges were dismissed due to the fact that i did not steal the cd.
I applied for a job and was told that i could not get the job because my consumer report said that i stole the above CD.
The case has been dismissed and the arrest was taken off my record.
Can i sue for defimation, if so should i sue for anything else and how much should i sue for

Answer 1

It could very well be Libel, as the case was dismissed.
Best bet would be to talk to a lawyer. Some don't charge for a first consultation.

Answer 2

Who would you sue? The publisher of the consumer report? The fact is you DID steal, it was just dismissed, in fact you stole twice if I'm reading correctly. You should use this as an opportunity to grow up rather than looking to sue someone. Your effort would fail miserably in court.

Answer 3

I'm not sure what grounds you would have but you seem to be untrustworthy. Your own words gave you away. "I was also terminated from my job due to the fact that I had stolen a cd from one of my stores." In this case, you didn't say that you were accused. You stated that you actually stole. Consult an attorney, but if you are this shaky, you could open Pandora's box and find yourself looking even worse.

Answer 4

Not positive, but I believe you have the right to get a copy of a consumer report if you were rejected from a job....I know you can if it effected a loan.

Then you would have to go through the dispute procedure to get it removed. I a not sure you have grounds to sue unless you first attempt to get it removed.

The problem is this relates to criminal records on your consumer report, and I don't know if you have access to that.

Read the Fair Credit Reporting Act first before running off to hire a lawyer.

Answer 5

The source below will help you to understand the term defamation a little better.

You lost your job because you admit you stole something and were also accused of stealing another item. In my opinion, you would seem to be the one that is damaging your reputation and character much more than that company.

However, feel free to join the lawyer lottery system and perhaps you to will strike it rich. Perhaps then, you will not have to resort to stealing.

Answer 6

It sounds as if you're just looking for someone to sue. What you should be doing is having your record expunged so nothing like this happens again. Please talk to a lawyer who can advise you of the best way to take care of this. Until you do that, this problem will happen time and time again.

Answer 7

I wouldn't think that would be defamation, just misinformation. You did not have this expunged or removed from your record since you were acquitted? I would talk to a lawyer about this--if you were not hired because you were arrested and acquitted then that company has discriminated against you unjustly.

Answer 8

It's only defamation if you didn't steal anything. If you did, then it's not.