Defamation of character by other parents

[alat69]

What is the name of your state? Hawaii

I'm in involved with a non profit group that plans an all night celebration free from alcohol & drugs for our sons the night they graduate from school. There were things that were not in-sync with the old parent group & a lot of administrative & legal paperwork were not filed. Anyway's, prior to changing our parent group & funds(monies) over to the group name we were recognized under by the IRS as a legal 501(c)(3) Non Profit Corporation, and informing the parents of this change, an email was sent out to the old group informing them of the changes that have been or will take place. In this email it was specifically asked that these committee members not contact the parents and mislead them or defamate my character or the currents boards character, make derogatory statements of any sorts. It was also asked that we need to settle amicably & to contact any one of us current board members.

Anyway's, what proceeded was the most ugly campaign of defamation of character I've seen to date by parent's who were part of the old committee. What they proceeded to do was contact the parents by email of the entire senior class & accused us of forming our parent project grad group & accused us of theft/removal of funds & a theft report was filed w/the police (even when they knew a legal transfer of monies were made), they told their respective son's all lies of theft and what not & their sons went to school and started to spread rumours about my son's mom stealing monies, leading to all the boys in school coming up to my son and asking him "Is this true...did your mom steal our project grad monies" 'causing undue stress, pain and suffering for my son & us. Having us barred from an event for our sons for selfish reasons.

Anyway's, the school's attorney got involved & found that there was never no theft involved & that I did file the legal paperwork required to operate under a 501(c)(3) Non Profit Corporation, and all of the paperwork I did with the banks to transfer our sons monies into a legal & proper NON Profit account was all legal.

Can I file suit for defamation of character & demand that an apology letter be sent out to the parents on our behalf. Am I able to sue for pain & suffering? Our name has been dirtied and dragged through the mud 'cause of these moms...how do we recover after this, how do get them to rectify the wrong that's been done against us?

Frustrated & Angry-
Concerned Parent

 

[seniorjudge]

Can I file suit for defamation of character & demand that an apology letter be sent out to the parents on our behalf. Am I able to sue for pain & suffering? Our name has been dirtied and dragged through the mud 'cause of these moms...how do we recover after this, how do get them to rectify the wrong that's been done against us?

Yes, no, and I don't know.

 

[Silverplum]

Or you could, ya know, act like a grownup and don't freak out every time things don't go your way or everyone doesn't adore you.

 

[quincy]

"No" on the pain and suffering, as seniorjudge said, but you can try instead to recover damages for emotional distress and mental anguish (also referred to as intentional or negligent infliction of emotional distress). In addition to the damage caused to one's reputation when defamatory comments are made, there can also be this psychological harm.

Defamation suits are extremely expensive to bring and time-consuming. Your son will have not only graduated from high school, but possibly even college before a defamation action has worked its way through the court system. And there is never a guarantee you will win such a suit.

In addition, even if you win a defamation action against these mothers, your reputation may never be entirely "repaired". You may still be shunned, hated, ridiculed and thought of as a thief by many in your community. There is no legal remedy for this.

I would sit down with an attorney and go over all facts of your situation. You may find that, with the amount of time and money that must be expended to sue, a court action is not worth pursuing.