Me, My Husband and his father run a family towing & automotive business. We are constantly going through drivers, we just recently lost a good employee, his reasoning was he didnt make enough money. We have offered him more numerous times, yet he turned them all down. Odd I thought. Anyhow, this employee is now filing claim after claim, stating we fired him. Which is not true, but that's just the 1st layer of the cake, he has gone above & beyond at trying to put us out of business. We tow for multiple police departments, and he has sent letters to them stating very untrue facts, about my husband & I stealing from the company, and my husbands dad trying to file fraudulant insurance claims. One of our drivers were involved in an accident last week, so he is claiming we went to the scene to take pictures to try and cover it up. Taking pictures of accidents is a standard policy. I am not sure if we can file a lawsuit on this guy for slander, or defamation of character.
2007-10-09 03:31:27 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
Call a lawyer, it sounds like you might have a case but you want someone who really knows what they are doing. Call a lawyer.
2007-10-09 03:41:23 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
First, slander is spoken. Libel is printed. For this to be libel, three conditions must be met: 1) The message was sent knowing it was false and sent anyway for malicious purposes. This meets this condition. 2) You must have suffered some measurable damage. Humiliation and hurt feelings do not count. Did you lose any money (loss a promotion at work, denied a job, etc.)? 3) Facebook must become a real and reliable source of information. Since this is never going to happen, no rational person will believe everything they read on Facebook. You are free to consult a lawyer. But it doesn't sound like you have much of a case.
2016-05-19 22:37:18 · answer #2 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yeah, you've probably got several actionable torts here, particularly libel and tortious interference. Libel is making false statements in print, and if he's sent letters to your clients, you can get him for that (assuming his allegations are in fact false, which you will may have to prove).
But I think the more important angle here would be tortious interference with contract. He's not just making false statements about you as people, he's attempting to interfere with your business relationships. Because this is a far more easily recognizable interest than merely not having bad things said about you, courts are far more likely to grant both injunctive and monetary relief.
You need to contact a lawyer in your jurisdiction as soon as possible. He'll not only be able to file the necessary papers to start legal action, but he'll know your local and state laws about what causes of action are available to you. Because you'll almost certainly be served with a cross-claim of wrongful termination, your lawyer should be prepared to deal with that as well.
2007-10-09 03:39:20 · answer #3 · answered by Ryan D 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can file a lawsuit against the ex-employee for both slader and libel. You will need to prove that his lies led to financial damges to you and your company. The biggest question is whether or not the "whistleblower" is believed and actually presents any real evidence of his claims. You reputation should see you through the mess, but if it doesn't, you certainly have a right to get a fair hearing and to put the other party on the spot, as it were, to make his case against you.
2007-10-09 03:42:02 · answer #4 · answered by fangtaiyang 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
How has your business been Harmed?
Are the statements (both verbal and written) Blatently untrue or are they opinion?
Do you have about 6 months and a few thousand to spend on filing such a lawsuit?
JUST some of the questions you need to ask yourself. NO ONE here can tell you if you have such a case as we can't review the verbal nor the written claims he has made.
2007-10-09 03:36:30 · answer #5 · answered by hexeliebe 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you run a family business and this guy is trying to cause damage to it thru lies and deciet, I'd say you have a case of both. They run hand in hand. Collect any documents and papers he's tried to use against you with witnesses and if your business starts to suffer from it, see an attorney. More than likely, if the business is ok, then you can get something down legally to shut him up, if no money is awarded, like filing false police statements.
2007-10-09 03:42:57 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
My advice would be to contact a lawyer and have him look at the facts because we can't tell you if you do or not. If you don't have a case there is always the chance he will be dumb enough to put your company down for his next job and you can tell that comapny just what he did.
2007-10-09 03:42:24 · answer #7 · answered by christina h 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Call Judge Judy
2007-10-09 04:05:07 · answer #8 · answered by marian g 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Contact a lawyer.
2007-10-09 03:36:25 · answer #9 · answered by Ashley 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yep, contact a lawyer, he'll tell you what can be done.
2007-10-09 03:37:42 · answer #10 · answered by Angela F 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋