Can I sue for Slander?

Question

About a year ago, while I was pregnant with my daughter, I was arrested on criminal charges (egging a car) and spent hours in jail. I then got an attorney and went forward in the case. After the birth of my daughter the case was still pending and problems with my ex arose. I then hired an attorney to obtain custody of my daughter. When I went to court for custody, this past August, the "accuser" from the criminal case was there. When she got on the stand she testified not "She messed up my car, I spoke with the county attorney this morning and she is going to jail next week. They said they are pressing charges to the full extent and she is definitely facing jail time" This month, charges were dismissed due to "unreliable witness" I lost a couple thousand dollars, spent time in jail, had my reputation ruined in my home town, and moved out of town, which I had lived in for 16 years, and my parents still live in. Can I sue her? I know perjury is a crime also, and I am not in jail either

Okay, just to clarify a little.. She "Accused" me of egging her car, No, I did NOT do it. It was considered criminal mischief so yes I did go to jail and had to bond out. Since the day of the arrest I had to go to the doctor one or twice every week ( I was pregnant and it became high risk, possibly due to stress) What she said was On stand, Under Oath in a Public trial in a town I had to move out of. (So I do have proof of what was said) She testified In my "child custody case" that I was "going to jail not only for suppsedly egging her car, but for going to her work and home harrassing her" She was pregnant at the time of testifying and claimed I "would not leave her alone" but I didnt have any contact with her.

She was a friend of my ex. He brought her to the case to try and get custody. None of what she said was true. The CA never told her any of what she stated. And I did not do anything to her car, or to her.

She stated I went into her work and harassed her as well.. At the time I was under 21 and she worked in 21 and up bar only.. That's a lie in itself that can easily be proven since she said it on the stand. And I would think since she said I was going to jail and said I did do it when in fact I didnt have anything to do with it.. It is a very long story with alot of details, I am just trying to give the main points to see if I possibly have a case and what it is worth to do it

Thank you all for your comments but please read that I DID NOT HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH ANY KIND OF EGGING TO HER CAR. I actually reported harassment against her on a Sunday of last year due to threats I was reveiveing and the next thing I know I was arrested, I was never found guilty, the case was dismissed, it never even went to trial. But it turns out she filed that false accusation after I filed against her for harassment and threats

She did not speak to the county attorney, he never told her anything like that. Not to mention, why would the county attorney tell someone I am facing jail time when he knows he doesnt have any evidence or witnesses saying that I did it, reason being I didnt do it... I know the County Attorney doesnt want to press charges against her for perjury because he doesnt want to deal with it, but I still think there is something I could do... If its not worth it to me than obviously I wont persue it, after all, I am definately trying to be the better person. I do have a baby to take care of, that's why I moved out of the town.

NO I DIDNT EGG HER CAR. But yes, I do not the consequences if someone does something like that. I have NEVER been in trouble with the law, and this is now on my record. Which in the state of TX, where I am, I may not be able to get my real estate license as planned. I believe they are pretty strict on your backround, guilty or not. And I do not know why anyone would want to egg someones car, there is nothing to accomplish in doing so. What I actually "believe" happened is she teamed up with someone to do that to me b/c she wanted my boyfriend (he was my ex at the time and it didnt really matter to me though) No man is worth endangering or risking your life, children, or future.

Answer 1

A slander suit probably won't be worth your time. A lot of what she said was opinion and speculation, not fact and not actionable. You also have to make a connection between her statements and your damages. For example, her defense could be that you moved to get away from your ex, not because you were damaged by her statements.

There are also issues of immunity involved that make it tough to sue someone for slander for things said in court.

An easier case to make is one for false arrest/malicious prosecution. Talk to a lawyer in your area.

Answer 2

YOU are the one who egged a car. How mature.

YOU are the one who had a child and now have an ex husband to deal with. How responsible.

YOU are the one who left town. (The guilty flee when no man chases.)

Sounds to me like your ex-husband should get the kid, you should grow up and not make more babies until you do.

And oh yes, do not egg any more cars.

Answer 3

Did you egg the car? If so, that's vandaliam, and you got away with it.

Do you get custody of you daughter? If you did, no harm no fowl. The car lady said that you messed up her car and that she spoke to the county attorney.....her testimoney regarding what she was told by the country attorney could have been challenged as hearsay. Did your attorney so object? Did anyone request a recess for the purpose of phoning the county attorney...you said that this month the charges were dropped for lack of reliable witnesses...was this timely to the testimony the car lady gave or some time thereafter...like a month or so: the country attorney may have changed his mind at some point after your coustody court date due to new witness circumstances?

Each state has their own code regarding Slander, but malice must be proven, and that's not always an easy challange. You have the court records of testimony--they are probably public as opposed to sealed; but that's not much help in proving malice.

I'd say you may have trouble finding an attorney willing to take your case, unless you are willing and able to pay for the services; it could run far more than you are already out, and there's a good probability you will lose the case.

OH, one last question: Why would anyone egg someone's car? Is that something a mature, responsible person would do? Whether you did it or not, you now know the cost for getting assused of doing it.

Answer 4

Well if she did speak to the county attorney and was told that she wasn't lying, so what did she do that was slanderous?

If she was lying on the stand, normally someone has to have damages to sue. What are your damages? And I mean monetary and real damages, real loss that you can prove. Since you did actually get accused of committing a crime, and did actually spend time in jail, how is the loss of your reputation totally her fault? See what I'm getting at? This is really hard to prove and just from what you've written here, you'd lose in court.

If you can contact an attorney and see what he or she thinks about your chances of winning. You'll also need some cash up front to pay the attorney, usually around $5000 as a retainer. You also should know that if she doesn't have any assets to "win", even if you win you'll never see a nickle of the judgment. So what's the point then?

Answer 5

If you have actual evidence of her lying and damaging your reputation...you can sue her. Slander is VERY hard to prove but I think you can make a case for it. You are probably going to need an attorney and you need to figure out y our ACTUAL damages. Good luck.

Answer 6

honestly, i don't have any idea why they would involve a victim of vandalism to testify in a family court case. you can't sue for slander because you did vandalize her car and the only thing she said was that she pressed charges and you were facing jail time -- all of which were true -- even though the case was eventually dropped. if you lost custody based on her statements which eventually proved false (you did not spend more than a few hours in jail) then you could consider a lawsuit against her, but it really sounds like she needs to get a life and the courts in the county you live in need to spend their time and money investigating real issues instead of eggs on a windshield.

Answer 7

Yes, contact the DA and ask for the procedure to do so.

Answer 8

if you can prove that there was ' malicious intent ' then yes

Answer 9

You can sue for this the thing is are there any benefits?

Answer 10

I think you should forget about it and move on with your life. what goes around comes around as they say good luck.