Libel/Slander/Breach of Confidence issue - Very Confused

[JOE_2019]

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

I was in a recent incident were I confronted a person in a Facebook Private Message. I confronted this person in regards to a potential conflict of interest issues based on them voicing POA concerns as a committee member and then working on the side for the Developer who is the decision maker on the POA. This person detailed the business relationship while stating it was not an issue on their end. I took this affirmation through the response that the conflict of interest was affirmed by the person in the private message. I stated that that this person should disclose this relationship to the Homeowners via a private Homeowners only site on Facebook to be 100% transparent which this person did by stating in her message within the Private Homeowners site that this person had been asked by me to let them know they work for the developer on the side which she disclosed and detailed some of her work activities she did for the Developer. Are there any possibilities for libel or defamation claims from the Developer or Committee member?

Now to the other item within the Facebook Private Message. I made a statement that I didn't think that due to a current road issues we were encountering and possible legal issues that might arise with possibly 3 separate parties through our neighborhood that we can't have this person voicing our concerns and receiving a paycheck from a liable source (Developer) at the same time. Are there any possibilities for libel or defamation claims from the Developer or Committee member?

Now to the last item. The committee shared all of the details of our Private Message to the Developer as I got a text message from the Developer asking to discuss some legal matter which was never discussed or disclosed in an open forum. Would this constitute a Breach of Confidence or possible other recourse by me?

Thank you for your time and help.

 

[quincy]

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

I was in a recent incident were I confronted a person in a Facebook Private Message. I confronted this person in regards to a potential conflict of interest issues based on them voicing POA concerns as a committee member and then working on the side for the Developer who is the decision maker on the POA. This person detailed the business relationship while stating it was not an issue on their end. I took this affirmation through the response that the conflict of interest was affirmed by the person in the private message. I stated that that this person should disclose this relationship to the Homeowners via a private Homeowners only site on Facebook to be 100% transparent which this person did by stating in her message within the Private Homeowners site that this person had been asked by me to let them know they work for the developer on the side which she disclosed and detailed some of her work activities she did for the Developer. Are there any possibilities for libel or defamation claims from the Developer or Committee member?

If you communicated falsehoods about another or others to this person, and these falsehoods caused demonstrable harm to the reputations of those about whom you spoke, that creates the basis for a defamation suit.

If there were no lies told about anyone, there is no defamation.

Now to the other item within the Facebook Private Message. I made a statement that I didn't think that due to a current road issues we were encountering and possible legal issues that might arise with possibly 3 separate parties through our neighborhood that we can't have this person voicing our concerns and receiving a paycheck from a liable source (Developer) at the same time. Are there any possibilities for libel or defamation claims from the Developer or Committee member?

There is always the possibility of being sued, even when a suit has no merit. I am not seeing defamation in what you said here, however. It appears you expressed an opinion and nothing more. That said, without knowing the issues involved and the relationships of all of the players, it is impossible for me to determine if something false and damaging was implied in what you said.

With defamation, context matters, as do the specific words used in the communication.

Now to the last item. The committee shared all of the details of our Private Message to the Developer as I got a text message from the Developer asking to discuss some legal matter which was never discussed or disclosed in an open forum. Would this constitute a Breach of Confidence or possible other recourse by me? ...

It seems from what you said earlier that you hoped that what you advised the person to do would be done. That this person attributed his disclosure of his relationship on advice he received from you (private message or not) does not appear to me to be a breach of any confidence. Did you ask this person to keep what you said private? If not, I see no legal issue here.

Have you already experienced some fallout from your communication? Is that from what your concern stems?

 

[JOE_2019]

Appreciate you taking the time to help.

I guess the problem here is the Developer is stating to me that he is discussing the issue with his attorney so that card is looming. I guess I was under the impression that a Facebook Private Message between two parties was in turn private.

Does the person who disclosed their relationship with the Developer have any potential legal against me? This person has a habit of taking screenshots of comments on the Private Homeowners page and sending them to the Developer. The Developer is also a public figure if that means anything.

The result I has trying to accomplish in my initial Private Instant message was to gain agreement that the relationship exists and then be 100% transparent to the Homeowners. Does it appear that a conflict of interest exist in this scenario?

By me saying in the Private Message "the cut through agreement that the A party, Developer, or B party put into place has potential legal implications tied to it and we can't have you voicing our concerns and receiving a paycheck room a liable source (developer" at the same time." Does this have any potential legal implications? Even if the Private message was passed to the Developer via screen shot or verbally?

Appreciate your time and help..

If you communicated falsehoods about another or others to this person, and these falsehoods caused demonstrable harm to the reputations of those about whom you spoke, that creates the basis for a defamation suit.



There is always the possibility of being sued, even when a suit has no merit. I am not seeing defamation in what you said here, however. It appears you expressed an opinion and nothing more. That said, without knowing the issues involved and the relationships of all of the players, it is impossible for me to determine if something false and damaging was implied in what you said.

With defamation, context matters, as do the specific words used in the communication.



It seems from what you said earlier that you hoped that what you advised the person to do would be done. That this person attributed his disclosure of his relationship on advice he received from you (private message or not) does not appear to me to be a breach of any confidence. Did you ask this person to keep what you said private? If not, I see no legal issue here.

Have you already experienced some fallout from your communication? Is that from what your concern stems?

 

[quincy]

Appreciate you taking the time to help.

I guess the problem here is the Developer is stating to me that he is discussing the issue with his attorney so that card is looming. I guess I was under the impression that a Facebook Private Message between two parties was in turn private.

No. Private messages are not really private. They can be forwarded and the contents of the messages disclosed, absent a privilege that attaches to the communication.

Technically, COPYING the writings of someone else without authorization from the writer could be copyright infringement, but I say technically because the content of messages created by ordinary people is generally valueless.

And this is not to say that someone might not reveal private and confidential information in a private message that is understood by both parties to be private and confidential, the disclosure to others of which might be a privacy violation. Invasion of privacy laws have specific elements that must be met for such a disclosure to support a lawsuit, however.

Whatever the case, once a private message (or email or text or letter) has been sent, it is out of the sender's control, with bottom line being that it is rarely a good idea to communicate in a message anything you want to keep private.

Does the person who disclosed their relationship with the Developer have any potential legal against me? This person has a habit of taking screenshots of comments on the Private Homeowners page and sending them to the Developer. The Developer is also a public figure if that means anything.

I don't see any legal action he can take against you, based strictly on what you have said. He did not have to act on your advice.

The result I has trying to accomplish in my initial Private Instant message was to gain agreement that the relationship exists and then be 100% transparent to the Homeowners. Does it appear that a conflict of interest exist in this scenario?

I don't know if a conflict of interest exists in the relationship. Possibly. Disclosing the relationship allows others to weigh in on the matter, though.

By me saying in the Private Message "the cut through agreement that the A party, Developer, or B party put into place has potential legal implications tied to it and we can't have you voicing our concerns and receiving a paycheck room a liable source (developer" at the same time." Does this have any potential legal implications? Even if the Private message was passed to the Developer via screen shot or verbally?

Saying there are "potential legal implications" appears to be you stating a layman's opinion of the relationship. It could, I suppose, imply the individuals are being less than honorable. The statement could be seen to impugn their honesty and integrity.

Whether reputations are harmed by what you said, or harmed enough to support a defamation lawsuit, is a question mark. Whether a lawsuit will be pursued is a question mark.

You can have an attorney in your area who is well versed in defamation law personally review the message exchanges and the circumstances that spawned the comments. The personal review can give you a better idea of what sort of legal ground you are standing on, should a lawsuit be filed.

Here is a link to information on Georgia defamation law, published by the Digital Media Law Project: http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/georgia-defamation-law

Good luck.