his ex wrote a book

[quincy]

Yes, journalists tend to be nothing but trouble...

It sounds very much like you have the basis for a defamation suit and an invasion of privacy suit. As I said, anyone involved in the publication of a book that contains defamatory material can be held liable for the defamation - so the editor and the ex can both be sued. Ditto for the invasion of privacy suit.

Now for the problems. It takes a lot of money and a lot of time to bring any lawsuit. And the damages awarded if the suit is successful (and there is never a guarantee that it will be) often do not justify the expense of the suit. At the very least, however, you can have the books confiscated and publication ceased.

With a defamation suit, you must show that there has been injury, and "whore" is considered defamation per se so that automatically assumes injury. You also must prove that you are identified in the book, and if it is a small community and the history of your relationship with the author's ex is well-known, that is not hard to prove. The major hurdle you will face is if she can prove what she wrote is true, or if she can show that what she wrote was opinion that did not imply fact or was a false statement of fact. The "opinion" defense is not always successful, however, as it is a very fine line between opinion and implied fact.

The invasion of privacy action, painting a false picture of you, requires similar proofs.

I cannot believe that this woman even libeled your dog - this is not the puppy story I expected!

You should have an attorney look over the book and see what course of action is wisest to take.

 

[curious1FL]

Thanks for all of your posts. This is something to seriously consider, because it is clear that we are easily identifiable. And she evens says things in her books like "I was validated" about her husband and I because in the end, yes, we became a couple as we both were trying to survive her crazyness-and ended up married (best 10 years ever!) So she says she was correct, but she wasn't at the time.

Also - interesting note - just found out that there is the possibility that her so called "therapist" who practices in calif. and not ny., may have broken some rules (ethics related?) because even if it was over the phone, she had to be registered in ny.

Also-the therapist is obligated to notify people - I guess the authorities or individuals threatened-when the patient talks about feeling homicidal and/or suicidal. (which is how the ex said she felt in her book and discussed with the therapist).

Sometimes this stuff is just too bizarre.

 

[quincy]

Mark Twain said, "Truth is stranger than Fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn't."

 

[fairisfair]

Yes, journalists tend to be nothing but trouble...

It sounds very much like you have the basis for a defamation suit and an invasion of privacy suit. As I said, anyone involved in the publication of a book that contains defamatory material can be held liable for the defamation - so the editor and the ex can both be sued. Ditto for the invasion of privacy suit.

Now for the problems. It takes a lot of money and a lot of time to bring any lawsuit. And the damages awarded if the suit is successful (and there is never a guarantee that it will be) often do not justify the expense of the suit. At the very least, however, you can have the books confiscated and publication ceased.

With a defamation suit, you must show that there has been injury, and "whore" is considered defamation per se so that automatically assumes injury. You also must prove that you are identified in the book, and if it is a small community and the history of your relationship with the author's ex is well-known, that is not hard to prove. The major hurdle you will face is if she can prove what she wrote is true, or if she can show that what she wrote was opinion that did not imply fact or was a false statement of fact. The "opinion" defense is not always successful, however, as it is a very fine line between opinion and implied fact.

The invasion of privacy action, painting a false picture of you, requires similar proofs.

I cannot believe that this woman even libeled your dog - this is not the puppy story I expected!

You should have an attorney look over the book and see what course of action is wisest to take.

Wow, shouldn't you have said I THINK journalists tend to be nothing but trouble???

 

[quincy]

fairisfair - I worded my statement very carefully to avoid defamation - you cannot be sued, in most circumstances, for libeling a large group (and there are a LOT of us lurking in the shadows ). . . . . . . although I am pretty sure I can use truth as a defense, anyway.