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Any grounds for me to file a lawsuit?

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camhabib

Junior Member
I recently found out that for the past year, an acquaintance of mine has been telling friends, family, and customers of hers that I was her fiancé. While not horrible on its own, she has apparently told countless false stories, about how I would abuse drugs, have illicit relationships with prostitutes, physically and mentally abuse her, and so forth. I am a medical professional, and while I don't think any of this has harmed my business or professional life, I feel violated and upset. I have tried to contact her several times about this but she refuses to speak. This occurred in Rhode Island, I live in Boston.

What are my options as far as the law? Where any criminal laws broken? Is there anything I can bring a suit against her for? Any help is appreciated.
 


FlyingRon

Senior Member
Not criminal.

Absent any harm, it's unlikely you'd get anything in a lawsuit worth the effort. You don't get compensation for "feeling violated or upset." Defamation actions have nothing to do with your feelings, but rather that the statements made to others cause you some tangible harm. You could try a libel pro se based on the allegations of criminal activity, but even that's likely not to be particularly fruitful either.

Libel actions are kind of well described by famous attorney Louis Nizer who represented people like famous journalists in such suits. He likened defamation to having mud splashed on your coat. You can liberally attack it immediately and all you'll end up is smearing it all over you making a bigger mess, or you can leave it be and in a short period of time it will dry up and flake off on its own.
 

adjusterjack

Senior Member
Libel actions are kind of well described by famous attorney Louis Nizer who represented people like famous journalists in such suits. He likened defamation to having mud splashed on your coat. You can liberally attack it immediately and all you'll end up is smearing it all over you making a bigger mess, or you can leave it be and in a short period of time it will dry up and flake off on its own.
Like ^

I am so stealing that for my own future use. :D
 

quincy

Senior Member
I recently found out that for the past year, an acquaintance of mine has been telling friends, family, and customers of hers that I was her fiancé. While not horrible on its own, she has apparently told countless false stories, about how I would abuse drugs, have illicit relationships with prostitutes, physically and mentally abuse her, and so forth. I am a medical professional, and while I don't think any of this has harmed my business or professional life, I feel violated and upset. I have tried to contact her several times about this but she refuses to speak. This occurred in Rhode Island, I live in Boston.

What are my options as far as the law? Where any criminal laws broken? Is there anything I can bring a suit against her for? Any help is appreciated.
Your legal recourse, when falsehoods are told about you that affect your reputation in a demonstrable way, is to sue the one telling the lies for defamation.

Because the lies were spread about you in Rhode Island, you could potentially sue the acquaintance in Rhode Island, or, if you reside in Boston, you could sue in Massachusetts if the greatest harm to your reputation is realized there.

Whether there is enough to support a defamation claim against the acquaintance, however, depends on many factors, including how negatively the words have affected you in your profession, your community, with your family, with your friends.

Although Rhode Island recognizes defamation per se (under which many of the statements about you could fall), the statements could also be considered rhetorical hyperbole depending on how they were communicated, to whom they were communicated, and for what purpose they were communicated.

You can consult with an attorney in your area. Perhaps having the attorney draft and send a cease and desist letter to the acquaintance, advising the acquaintance of possible legal action should the falsehoods continue, can halt the spread of lies.



(FlyingRon, do you think you could find a different story to tell? I think I have heard this Louis Nizer one from you about a thousand times. :p)
 

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