Slander on the internet

[arman matthews]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

A real estate agent defrauded me 3 yrs ago & placed defamatory statements about me on the internet 2 yr ago. I found out about it close to a year ago.
What he said was false and disqusting and no one would hire me who read it.
The Civil Code says I have one year to sue, presumably from when the statements were made. However, the posting is still on the internet. To the reader, it would not matter when the statements were made, for they are still there frozen in time, and just as damaging today as when they were written. Has any cases been tried of this nature? Isn't there someway around the one year limit? ATM

[Stevef]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

A real estate agent defrauded me 3 yrs ago & placed defamatory statements about me on the internet 2 yr ago. I found out about it close to a year ago.
What he said was false and disqusting and no one would hire me who read it.
The Civil Code says I have one year to sue, presumably from when the statements were made. However, the posting is still on the internet. To the reader, it would not matter when the statements were made, for they are still there frozen in time, and just as damaging today as when they were written. Has any cases been tried of this nature? Isn't there someway around the one year limit? ATM

If the statements were published in a book that was sitting on a library shelf, they would be just as frozen in time.

[quincy]

There IS a way to get an extension on the statute of limitations in RARE cases - examples of which would be if you were in a coma for 3 years and awoke to find the defamatory comments online, or if you were in Iraq for 3 years and had no computer access and returned home to find the defamatory comments online. Extensions in cases like this may be granted by the court.

Extensions can also be granted if you file for an extension just prior to the end of the one year statute of limitations period in California, which gives you additional time to file suit.

Some states have a "discovery" rule, which allows for a defamation action to be filed upon discovery of the defamatory material. Most states, however (including California), have a statute of limitations that starts running on the date of first publication of the defamatory material.

If the defamatory material in its original form has been "reworked" and republished in a different form (ie. additional material has been added to the original defamatory material or presented in a different way, altering the content), that can start the "first" publication date and the SOL anew. But if the material appears as it was originally posted, you have missed the time to file any defamation suit against the real estate agent.

You can try to get the defamatory material deleted from the site where it appears (although that will generally not eliminate its presence on the internet entirely). You can contact the real estate agent and ask that he remove the material. And, you can potentially go to court to obtain an order to have the website remove the defamatory material - although, for this, a court generally requires that you file a defamation action first and prove to the court that you have an actionable case - which, of course, you don't - because you will have filed suit too late. A letter from an attorney to the poster, requesting that the material be removed, may work as well (although the real estate agent would be under no legal obligation to do so).

It never hurts (except the bank account) to consult with an attorney, to see if there is any other action possible against the agent that you could consider. But, as for any defamation action, it does not seem like you can bring one now, based on what you have posted.

[arman matthews]

Thanks Quincy...I may have a rare case.
A.Matthews

[quincy]

Hey. Welcome back from Iraq or your coma!

And good luck.