False Allegations - I NEED HELP!!!

[Mjoseph40]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida - I have a problem. I am currently seated as Board Member on our HOA. During my term on the Board I have served as President and am currently serving as Vice President. We apparenty have a homeowner, who is maliciously spreasding falsehoods, and they are directly the stability of my family. This individual went out of their way to obtain an address that my husband uses for business use only to send this propaganda. Not only this she has sent this over state lines and out of the country.

This can have major impact on not my professional life as work at a Condo Association during the week, but it is most definetly having an ill effect, possible divorce and abandonment, on my family. This was done completely out of malice and the allegations are completely untrue. I am interested if ppossible in having this person prosecuted criminally.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. This has been going on for a year now, and now she has drawn my family into this. I was doing fine ignoring here until she out and out attacked my family life.

 

[Mass_Shyster]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida - I have a problem. I am currently seated as Board Member on our HOA. During my term on the Board I have served as President and am currently serving as Vice President. We apparenty have a homeowner, who is maliciously spreasding falsehoods, and they are directly the stability of my family. This individual went out of their way to obtain an address that my husband uses for business use only to send this propaganda. Not only this she has sent this over state lines and out of the country.

This can have major impact on not my professional life as work at a Condo Association during the week, but it is most definetly having an ill effect, possible divorce and abandonment, on my family. This was done completely out of malice and the allegations are completely untrue. I am interested if ppossible in having this person prosecuted criminally.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. This has been going on for a year now, and now she has drawn my family into this. I was doing fine ignoring here until she out and out attacked my family life.

You need a lawyer to send a cease and desist letter and file a civil lawsuit to:

• Obtain a temporary restraining order enjoining her from discussing you
• Obtain a preliminary injunction enjoining her from discussing you
• Obtain a permanent injunction enjoining her from discussing you
• Recover damages

Your lawyer can tell you if you can file a criminal complaint.

 

[quincy]

I agree with Steve that you need to see an attorney, especially if this woman has been defaming you for over a year. You have two years from the date of first publication of a defamatory statement to file a defamation lawsuit in Florida.

Having a cease-and-desist letter sent from an attorney to this woman, saying that legal action is being considered, is a good first step to take.

It will be important for you to have an attorney review the comments that have been communicated about you, and to go over all of the facts of your particular situation. What was said about you (and why), what damages have been suffered (and how these translate into a dollar figure), and what (if any) defenses this woman could have to a defamation suit, all must be considered when determining if a suit is worth pursuing.

In addition, if these are personal attacks against you, and they are not in any way related to your duties as Vice President of your HOA, then the proofs required for a defamation suit could be different - although damage to your reputation as Vice President of the HOA can be compensable in any suit that is brought over defamatory attacks unrelated to the HOA.

Although Florida does still have a criminal law against defamation, which prohibits specifically the making of false statements that harm the reputation of a financial institution or that imputes unchastity to a female, and a violation of this law is a first degree misdemeanor, a 2001 Appeals Court decision found the law to be unconstitutional (see State v Shank, 795 So 2d 1067, Fla Ct App, 4th Dist).

If the defamatory statements that were made about you were communicated via email, however, it is possible that this woman violated Florida's Computer Crimes Act (see 815.01, 815.02).

And there may be other crimes for which this woman could be charged (invasion of privacy, harassment), depending on what was communicated, how it was communicated, and to whom it was communicated.

You should take the evidence you have to the police, and then seek out legal counsel. An injunction could be issued by a court if you have sufficient evidence of harm and can demonstrate to the court the need for such an order to prevent further harm.

Good luck.

 

[quincy]

hapless, I had a chance to read some of your other posts on this forum, so when I saw that you had posted here, I sort of expected a challenge to my verbosity with a verbose post of your own. I am disappointed.





(by the way, you may wish to read the recent DOJ study on the effectiveness of harassment/stalking laws - either the first sentence or the last sentence in your post may need revising)

 

[cyjeff]

I believe what quincy was saying is that unstable people rarely fully appreciate the rules that a court imposes upon them.

A stable person places their own rules on their behavior.

Therefore... a policeman would stop a stable person. A policeman could anger an unstable one.

 

[quincy]

Cyjeff interpreted my post exactly right, hapless.

The DOJ study showed that laws and police intervention and restraining orders do very little to stop an unstable person from continuing their harassing behavior and carrying out previously-made threats. In fact, having "police show up at the door" can enrage an unstable person and have the opposite effect intended.

Therefore, your use of the word "typically" is incorrect when used in conjunction with emotionally unstable people stopping their behavior when police show up at the door. Typically, unstable people will NOT stop their previous behavior when the police show up at the door.

By the way, when did I say you were an "utter fool"? I merely said I had the chance to read some of your other posts on this forum. Does one necessarily follow the other?

 

[Zigner]

Not quite. A stable person places society's rules on her behavior.
A bit nuanced, perhaps, but upon reflection you no doubt appreciate the subtlety.

NEGATIVE - a stable person takes society's rules as their own

 

[Zigner]

Most posters view you as an utter fool - whether you scored 1,550 on your SAT's or not. I can't tell you how many intelligent people are as dumb as dirt...