Do I have a case for libel/slander/defamation?

[ault1027]

NEVADA
I've worked in a hotel for nearly 5 years. A semi-regular client who lives out of state and I corresponded by email. When he wanted to become more than just friends I told him we could not continue to have contact any longer. He got very upset and has written letters, emails and made phone calls to my direct managers even all the way to the CEO of the company. He made claims I tried to get $5,000 from him and demanded that I be fired. The hotel completed an investigation with security and their legal department and I was cleared of any and all accusations from this man. The hotel called him and explained NO disciplinary actions will be taken against me. I was not forced to take any time off, but I did need some time due to the stress while the hotel investigated the complaints. Do I have a case against this person?

 

[moxie5k]

NEVADA
I was not forced to take any time off, but I did need some time due to the stress while the hotel investigated the complaints. Do I have a case against this person?

I'm sorry to hear that someone you thought was a friend turned so nasty on you. that is very disturbing and sad.
But as to your questions:If you lost money due to his libel, or if your reputation was damaged in some way, yes, you might be able to recover. But what are you trying to recover? His libel was not sucessful, you didn't lose your job or apparently your reputation within the company. Taking time off for stress would be hard to win on alone, especially if you have vacation/personal days accrued. Additionally, you have the complication of actually collecting against someone who doesn't live in your state. the cost of trying to collect a judgment you did get would probably be prohibitive. I don't know how much money you make a day, but I'm guessing that it isn't reallly economically sound to pursue this, even if you had a slam dunk case, and I'm not sure you can prove any damages.

 

[BelizeBreeze]

NEVADA
I've worked in a hotel for nearly 5 years. A semi-regular client who lives out of state and I corresponded by email. When he wanted to become more than just friends I told him we could not continue to have contact any longer. He got very upset and has written letters, emails and made phone calls to my direct managers even all the way to the CEO of the company. He made claims I tried to get $5,000 from him and demanded that I be fired. The hotel completed an investigation with security and their legal department and I was cleared of any and all accusations from this man. The hotel called him and explained NO disciplinary actions will be taken against me. I was not forced to take any time off, but I did need some time due to the stress while the hotel investigated the complaints. Do I have a case against this person?

You have no case against him.

 

[buckbill]

Libel/ Slander cases are very difficult and costly. Even if you had a strong case, you may never collect one dime in the end. To pursue a case of this nature, be prepared to fork over some serious money from the get go. Be prepared for it to drag on for a long time.
Be prepared to collect nothing even if you win. No I would say you have no case.

 

[neener17]

No, you have no case at all. Any person has a right to complain about you or any other employee. If the employer is smart they will investigate. Conclusions which are non criminal are meaningless. The employer can get away with clearing an employee if the allegation was misconduct related. Be careful who you associate with in the future.

 

[andrew070]

Duplicate Post******************************************.

Like I said in my previous reply. Clearing your name of any wrong doing doesn't prove one thing. I wouldn't place too much emphysis on your company's conclusion. Outside of your workplace, the company investigation means NOTHING.

 

[beta]

You have no Legal anything in this case. In-House employee investigations are a way of providing some protection if a lawsuit is filed. Employers will claim they acted on a complaint and found no cause to discipline employee. Company investigations mean next to nothing on the outside, every one knows that. of coarse, your employer will 'clear you'! Why would they admit that you did engage what the other person alledges? It would only invite a potential litigation by the individual who complained. Don't be so quick to declare your innocence! 'cleared' and 'innocent' are two entirely different things.

Keep in mind; we are only getting your side of the story here; which seems not to be the entire truth anyawy. You may have dodged a bullet with your employer; however, don't forget the other party can take the situation further if desired.

get real- You can't retaliate or file a lawsuit against someone for filing a complaint with your employer!

Complaint process- every company should have a complaint procedure and designated persons to contact. however, the complaining person doesn't have to follow the process, and is free to call, email, or send smoke signals to any person in the company they chose.
You have no recourse or legal action with this either.

making the statement- 'you should be fired' ! maybe you should have been, if you did do what the person accused you of! But again, the employer doesn't care about what is right, they care about Legalaties and protecting their interest. Also, this person is entitled to their opinion about what action should have been taken. Everyone has an opinion!

Suspensions- Normally suspensions are one to three days (sometimes longer). If your employer did suspend you upon receiving this complaint; well that says that it probably wasn't your first offence or suspension. Your employer may have thought it was possible you did engage in this activity. Otherwise they had no reason to remove you from the premesis. If they did do so! Normally, model employees are not removed pending an investigation for a first offence...

 

[Quaere]

Buckbill’s comments above about the cost and difficulty of bringing a defamation claim are accurate but I can’t assume you have no claim.

He made claims I tried to get $5,000 from him

What do you mean he says you “tried” to get his money? Does he claim you were trying to blackmail him, that you perpetrated some type of fraud, or that you tried to get this money through any other illegal means?

If he made a false allegation without adequate cause for doing so, you don’t have to prove your innocence. If the defamer wants to claim the statement was true, the burden of proof is on him.

You CAN bring a defamation claim against someone who makes a defamatory statement about you to your employer, though in some cases the communication MAY be considered privileged.

 

[beta]

Quaere.

It is obvious we are not getting the full story in this situation. For some reason this person only wants to revel some vague details. It is almost impossible to give sound advice to any person on this forum unless we get all the facts. Also, what ever information the person who filed the complaint gave to the employer is not supposed to be revealed to the accused. Confidentiality, privilidge should apply here. This person can't use anything the complaining person said to his/her employer againsed them. No Legal issue to pursue.

 

[Quaere]

It is almost impossible to give sound advice to any person on this forum unless we get all the facts.

I agree and that is why I am reluctant to tell someone they have no claim.

Also, what ever information the person who filed the complaint gave to the employer is not supposed to be revealed to the accused.

In the absence of a confidentiality agreement, the employer has no obligation to the individual who made the report.

This person can't use anything the complaining person said to his/her employer againsed them.

You are very confused about what qualifies as a privileged communication. In addition, it is possible to abuse a privilege and when privilege is abused it does not serve as a defense to defamation.

Is it ok for someone to feed your employer a false story that you are a known drug dealer? Does the fact that he only told the story to your employer protect him from liability for any damage the story causes? Of course not.

 

[beta]

Quaere.

I agree to some extent. However, it is obvious that for some reason we are not being given all the information about the situation. My guess would be that their was some wrong doing on the part of this employee, that is why we are only getting a small portion of the "REAL STORY"!

 

[tessa]

As I posted in reply to another thread. Libel/Slander cases are extremely difficult and very costly. Also, I agree that we have very little information on what really happened here. The complaining party could also sue this employee depending on the situation. The fact that the employee was cleared from the accusation by the company will mean nothing in a court of law. It is typical that companies rule in favor of their employee. The company doesn't want a law suit by the other party. It would be risky to attempt to sue this person because you don't know what they have that would discredit your claims. I wouldn't touch it.

 

[shannon-cl]

Not nearly enough information or facts given to receive an adequate answer.

Interesting Facts FYI:

I am with the MAJORITY on this one. Company in house investigations is a fancy way of saying THE COMPANY LOOKED INTO THE CHARGE OR COMPLAINT!

The CONCLUSIONS only serve to benefit the COMPANY/ not even the employee. The COMPANY wants to preserve their reputation and continue making money.

RESULTS of Company investigations will 99.9% of the time paint the employee in a positive light. Exception would be if the act was criminal in nature.

The Company will place the BURDEN OF PROOF on the complaining person. Even more so, when the individual is not an employee of the company.

I was FAMILIAR with a case in which a third party filed a complaint for HARASSMENT againsed an employee of a Large and well known Corporation.

APPARENTLY, the allegation was that an employee was HARASSING a non employee with INAPPROPRIATE EMAILS and other forms of contact during working hours. The one being HARASSED asked the other person to stop.

EVENTUALLY, the harassment seized, but the one who was harassed claimed emotional and psychological scars due to the incidient.

The EMPLOYER was notified and an investigation took place concerning the employee who was doing the alledged harassing.

IN THE END, the employer communicated to the person who filed the complaint, that they found no wrong doing on the employees part..

OF COURSE, this is what the person expected from the get go.

SEVEN MONTHS LATER, the complaining party sued the employee and eventually won.

The PLAINTIFF had evidence and proofs that discredited the employee and the company's investigation.
BASICALLY, the company lied to protect themselves from a suit, which happened eventually.

The Company CLAIMED, they must have missed it during the investigation.
An OUT OF COURT settlement was reached in favor of the PLAINTIFF.

Point here- You can still be successfully sued even if your employer excuses you or finds you not liable for the actions. Same thing as being CLEARED or EXONERATED>>>

INTERESTING- You said you were not FORCED to take any time off, during investigation. That basically tells me that you were SUSPENDED, probably early on in to the investigation process. If this is true, it says that your employer may have suspected that you did willfully engage in this alledged misconduct. Otherwise, employers don't usually suspend an employee with a good track record for a first complaint or allegation. It is even more rare to be suspended for an outside complaint..

Do you have a case for DEFAMATION, NO.
Does being cleared mean you didn't participate in the act- NO.
Can the other person sue YOU- POSSIBLY..
Information provided to a company to assist in an INVESTIGATION should be confidental or privilidged information..

If in FACT you did participate in this wrong doing, then if I were you I wouldn't even attempt to pursue any action
againsed the complaining party in this case.
To pursue a defamation-slander case, you should be PREPARED to spend anywhere between 50-75K in Lawyer and Court fees.

 

[Quaere]

INTERESTING- You said you were not FORCED to take any time off, during investigation. That basically tells me that you were SUSPENDED, probably early on in to the investigation process.

If OP was not forced to take time off, she was not suspended.

If this is true, it says that your employer may have suspected that you did willfully engage in this alledged misconduct.

If the employee was suspended pending an investigation, it says nothing at all about the employer’s suspicions.

Otherwise, employers don't usually suspend an employee with a good track record for a first complaint or allegation. It is even more rare to be suspended for an outside complaint..

Where are you are getting this information? If an employee is accused of wrongdoing, it is in everyone’s best interest to suspend the employee with pay pending an investigation.

Do you have a case for DEFAMATION, NO.

How do you know that when you don’t know what was said about the OP?

Can the other person sue YOU- POSSIBLY..

OP did not ask whether she could be sued, but obviously it is possible for anyone to sue anyone else.

Information provided to a company to assist in an INVESTIGATION should be confidental or privilidged information..

“Should” the information be confidential and privileged? If someone makes an outrageous false accusation about you to your boss, should you have an opportunity to respond to the accusation?

To pursue a defamation-slander case, you should be PREPARED to spend anywhere between 50-75K in Lawyer and Court fees.

I’d set the minimum closer to 10K.

No one can give the full story behind a potential civil suit in a forum post. OPs come here and present what they think are the key facts needed to answer their questions. There is no point in attempting to fill in the blanks with our own assumptions and certainly such assumptions should not affect the answers offered to OPs actual question.

 

[Quaere]

When I respond to a post, I respond based upon the facts given by the OP and only the facts given by the OP.

I believe my first answer to OPs post was complete and accurate.

OP is not the only one who will read the answers given here. When an answer is based upon information that is not present in the thread, it confuses others.

The fact is that a person can be held liable for defamation if they send a letter containing false statements of defamatory facts to someone’s employer. That is the main information I want to convey in this thread.

Thanks for your explanation.