Slander Question for Legal Types

[tiecollector]

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[globetrotter]

I am not a lawyer. and, as I have shown a few times when this type of thing came up, I am not in favor of vengance.

that said, in this instance, if a person were to go to a kinkos, in a different city, and use cash to print up said fliers. and such a person were to pay a homeless person cash to distribute them. I would guess that it would be pretty damn difficult to prove he had done it.

 

[rnoldh]

I'm not an attorney, so I'll be interested to see what real attorneys say!

But, I'm pretty sure that truth is an absolute defense to a charge of slander.

I like your idea, but I would be absolutely sure that anything said is truthful, factual , and provable.

Saying that your 19 year old sister is engaged to a 40+ man, should do the trick.

But be sure of her standing in this matter. What if she denies that they've ever had sex, or even worse that they are engaged. I would makes sure that I can back up everything I say, if I were to distribute 10,000 flyers about anything.

BTW: My opinion is that a 19 year old girl with a 40+ man is inappropriate, even if "They're different", or "Really in Love!.

Finally, as many of us must be thinking, is the old lecher a Sugardaddy? Or at least an affluent businessman?

 

[tiecollector]

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[whomewhat]

rnoldh is correct that the truth is an absoute defense against libel or slander, and in this case we are talking about libel since you will be printing flyers. The lesser standard is that you simply have a good faith belief that what you are saying is true, even if it turned out to be false. Now, fi the individual was a person in the public, like a politician or someone famous, well, then the standard is even lower and you need not even have a good faith belief that it is true as pretty much anything goes with public figures. Likewise, I am not a real big fan of revenge, but I do believe in justice.

 

[tiecollector]

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[texas_jack]

Dude, I wouldn't worry. She will soon grow tired of his old ass. A lot of young women find older guys exciting and mature, but as they age themselves they begin to see these guys as they are, immature boys masqurading as men.

 

[rnoldh]

Originally Posted by whomewhat

rnoldh is correct that the truth is an absoute defense against libel or slander, and in this case we are talking about libel since you will be printing flyers. The lesser standard is that you simply have a good faith belief that what you are saying is true, even if it turned out to be false. Now, fi the individual was a person in the public, like a politician or someone famous, well, then the standard is even lower and you need not even have a good faith belief that it is true as pretty much anything goes with public figures. Likewise, I am not a real big fan of revenge, but I do believe in justice.


Thanks, whomewhat, we seem to agree!

I was sincere when I said that I really believe you to be Christian, honest, moral and knowledgeable.

Now, I myself would distribute those flyers without any further thought. And it seems tiecollector is leaning that way!

You say you believe in justice, but you don't address the implied question. Would you too distribute the flyers if you were in tiecollector's place?

 

[tiecollector]

 

[Toiletduck]

Just make sure she walks out with HALF!

 

[lawyerdad]

It's not defamation (which has two forms, slander for spoken defamation and libel for written defamation). It might -- along with other stuff if things escalate between you -- serve as the basis for his seeking some sort of anti-harassment injunction against you.
It's too personal a situation for me to lecture you about what you "should" or "shouldn't" do, but imho the distinction you and whomewhat are drawing between "revenge" and "justice" is pretty hazy.

 

[whomewhat]

If the facts are as he states, and I tend to believe they are as he seems genuinely upset about them, I suspect I might call in a favor to deal wtih this guy. Family is important above all to me and we are talking about statutory ****. How is a 16 year old girl able to make a decision about a reltionship with a 40 year old man? Clearly, he exercised unrighteous dominion over her and a brother has a right, maybe even an obligation, to protect his sister. The Christian in me says let it go, but the brother in me says my duty is to my sister. I am not qualified to make such a judgment, but you asked what I would do and if I was going to be truthful, I would call in a favor and send this guy a message, only I would not use a flyer.

 

[lawyerdad]

Originally Posted by whomewhat

If the facts are as he states, and I tend to believe they are as he seems genuinely upset about them, I suspect I might call in a favor to deal wtih this guy. Family is important above all to me and we are talking about statutory ****. How is a 16 year old girl able to make a decision about a reltionship with a 40 year old man? Clearly, he exercised unrighteous dominion over her and a brother has a right, maybe even an obligation, to protect his sister. The Christian in me says let it go, but the brother in me says my duty is to my sister. I am not qualified to make such a judgment, but you asked what I would do and if I was going to be truthful, I would call in a favor and send this guy a message, only I would not use a flyer.

I'm sure we all would have very personal reactions to the situation. At the risk of being overly "lawyerly", I'd note that since his sister is now 19 and making the decision to marry this guy, taking action now -- as opposed, perhaps, to when she was 16 -- does not so clearly constitute "defending" her. But it's a creepy situation, and even not having a sister myself I can emphathize with tc's situation. In short, TC, that sucks. I hope it works out for the best.

 

[tiecollector]

 

[drizzt3117]

I don't have a sister, but I do have a number of female relatives that I treat more or less the same way. The last time a situation like this came up, I got in the guy's face and basically insulted him until he took a swing at me, then put him in the hospital. My relative was pissed about it, inititally, until the police investigation found he had a record... heh. This strategy may have been more effective if you'd done it earlier, as opposed to after they're engaged, though, as LD mentioned.