Libel and Defamation in group email

[TexasTom]

Stupidity has nothing to do with intelligence.
Ignorance is the inability to learn
Stupidity is the REFUSAL to learn.

CASE CLOSED!

Are you implying that I am presently refusing to learn some concept ?
If so, please tell me what is that concept ?
I cannot change the past, I can only try to resolve or minimize the undesirable effects of poor decisions made in the past.... decisions that I have known for a long time were foolish decisions.

I could also potentially resolve my problem on this issue by researching the applicable laws and filing suit against those alumni/ae who seek to defame me. I realize that such a course of action would annoy alot of people, but those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind. I just need to have all my ducks in a row so as to minimize the legal battle.

TexasTom

 

[jpritchett81]

The only reason I care what the "online" world has to say about me, is that the alumni forum of the academic institution to which I belonged can form opinions about me that are based on false rumors. This can potentially lead to other alumni/ae treating me badly at future reunions if they suspect the false rumors about me to be true. I wish to continue going to my reunions because I enjoy the comraderie and fun of being with several friends which I do not otherwise get to see very often.

I believe my situation is somewhat analogous to that a hypothetical person being falsely accused of being a child molester and then potentially becoming an outcast in his own neighborhood because of the prolific spread of misinformation via the rumor mill.

TexasTom

I'm telling you it's not worth the stress. Out of all of those people I'm sure you have some true friends that stand behind you right?? Just worry about them, not some jackass who makes random juvenile statements whom you don't have to encounter on a daily basis face-to-face.

 

[meganproser]

Can't remember if I mentioned the SOL to you Tom. You said something about this stuff going on for "years"? You need to keep an eye on the various statutes of limitations.

 

[john123456]

I just need to have all my ducks in a row so as to minimize the legal battle.


TexasTom:

What are your damages?

 

[Shay-Pari'e]

I just need to have all my ducks in a row so as to minimize the legal battle.


TexasTom:

What are your damages?

He has no legal damages, and this thread really needs to end.

 

[TexasTom]

Can't remember if I mentioned the SOL to you Tom. You said something about this stuff going on for "years"? You need to keep an eye on the various statutes of limitations.

Thanks for the tip. Where can I find out the SOL for crimes of slander, libel, defamation of character, and blackmail ? Does the SOL vary in different states ? I believe I possess ample evidence to prove each of these crimes has been committed against me... and committed with callous disregard of the truth. I also recall reading that in cases of libel pro se, that proof of damages is not relevant. Is this true ? As best as I can tell, damages to my reputation have been limited to one online alumni forum, and to the alumni board of directors. If the SOL on a particular crime against me has already passed, I suspect that there will be a rerun of those same crimes against me at the next reunion.

 

[TexasTom]

I just need to have all my ducks in a row so as to minimize the legal battle.


TexasTom:

What are your damages?

Damages to my reputation have already occurred amongst certain groups of my fellow alumni/ae and among the alumni board of directors. If the false allegations about me were to continue unabated, I suspect that the board of directors could possibly prohibit me from attending future reunions.... which I believe to be the goal of the conspiracy against me. By the way, does my situation NOT meet the criteria for libel pro se ?

 

[TexasTom]

He has no legal damages, and this thread really needs to end.

I believe that your assessment of my damages is not relevant. If you want the thread to end, you are welcome to leave, but please let the thread continue, as I am still learning useful information from others who are willing to share what they know.

 

[Shay-Pari'e]

I believe that your assessment of my damages is not relevant. If you want the thread to end, you are welcome to leave, but please let the thread continue, as I am still learning useful information from others who are willing to share what they know.

OH! OK, good luck.

 

[meganproser]

>>Where can I find out the SOL for crimes of slander, libel, defamation of character

Slander and libel are two different types of defamation and defamation is NOT a crime in the United States. Generally, you would refer to the claim as: Defamation-Slander or Defamation-Libel. You will find a lot more info on defamation using "libel" as a key word instead of "defamation" or "slander".

You may have to visit your library to get the defamation SOL for Texas. Not many states have that particular sol on line, but you could try googling it. There may be an opinion or something on line that will come up. Try…Texas libel statute limitations.

>> and blackmail ?

Blackmail IS a crime and it involves a demand for money. You would report such an incident to the police.

>>Does the SOL vary in different states ?

Yes. The minimum sol for defamation is a year but a few states have longer sol’s for this claim.

>> I believe I possess ample evidence to prove each of these crimes has been committed against me... and committed with callous disregard of the truth.

NEGLIGENT disregard, lol.

>>I also recall reading that in cases of libel pro se, that proof of damages is not relevant.
I’ve not seen any indication that you have what you need for libel per se. “Some statements are so defamatory that they are considered defamation per se; and the plaintiff does not have to prove that the statements harmed his reputation. The classic examples of defamation per se are allegations of serious sexual misconduct; allegations of serious criminal misbehavior; or allegations that a person is afflicted with a loathsome disease. The historical examples of loathsome diseases are leprosy and venereal diseases. Allegations that a person is afflicted with AIDS may well constitute a modern variation on this form of defamation per se.”
“When a plaintiff is able to prove defamation per se, damages are presumed, but the presumption is rebuttable.”
>>As best as I can tell, damages to my reputation have been limited to one online alumni forum, and to the alumni board of directors.

Damage to your reputation can’t really be limited as long as one person has heard the allegations. This is why the damages are presumed when the allegations are of a very serious nature.

>> If the SOL on a particular crime against me has already passed,

If you can show that two or more people were working together to spread these falsehoods about you, you can file a claim for civil conspiracy. The SOL on civil conspiracy begins to run from the date of the last overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy. The SOL would be at least a year but it may be longer.

 

[TexasTom]

>>Where can I find out the SOL for crimes of slander, libel, defamation of character

>> and blackmail ?

Blackmail IS a crime and it involves a demand for money. You would report such an incident to the police.

In my situation, the blackmail contained no demand for money, it was a threat to disclose or publish my nudie pix (potentially humiliating pix in the wrong hands) to the alumni board of directors, if I attend the alumni reunion. To the best of my knowledge, the threat was not carried out... or if it was, the board of directors is doing a very good job of hiding the incident.... the board won't even talk to me about the harassment or stalking allegations others have falsely made against me, as they tell me that all this mess is a private matter, and they don't want to be involved in any way.

I have googled the statutes of the state of Minnesota, in which the woman resides who blackmailed me.

http://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/stats/

I found a section on "Coercion", in section 609.27 of the MN statutes. Subdivision 1 (4) covers that woman's action quite well. Subdivision 1 (5) could also apply to her false allegations of harassment and stalking, except that such allegations on her part were verbal. She used friends in other states to put those allegations into writing to me (and copying others).

SOL for section MN statute 609.27 is three years from the time of the infraction as defined in MN statute 628.26 (j). Therefore I still have a few months to act on this indictment relative to the most recent occurence of that crime. I recall reading in a publication entitled "Fighting Slander" 3rd edition, by Nicholas Carroll (I purchased it online at www.dancingwithlawyers.com), that in cases involving blackmail, that I should notify the D.A. for assistance.

Researching this legal information is really kind of fun. I should have done this a long time ago.

I've still got some more "googling" to do regarding the libel actions of the other persons.

Thanks,

 

[TexasTom]

TexasTom said earlier:
>> I believe I possess ample evidence to prove each of these crimes has been committed against me... and committed with callous disregard of the truth.

NEGLIGENT disregard, lol.

I assume that your response means the common vernacular of "callous" has no legal meaning, whereas the word "negligent" does have legal meaning. I can live with that.... I learn new things everyday.

Thanks,

 

[TexasTom]

>>
If you can show that two or more people were working together to spread these falsehoods about you, you can file a claim for civil conspiracy. The SOL on civil conspiracy begins to run from the date of the last overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy. The SOL would be at least a year but it may be longer.

I believe that I can show that a civil conspiracy exists, because in most (but not all) cases the conspirators have copied each other their defamatory emails to me. They seem to take turns at it. In one case, the conspirator having the most esteemed reputation amongst all alumni has made online statements rebuking me publicly for attempting to determine which of the other conspirators was the author of specific libelous remarks. I've also been rebuked publicly by these conspirators for stating online that I did not commit these alleged crimes, and there exists no proof to support the false allegations. That really made them mad. The last overt act on their part occurred back in October 2004.... so I still have time to act on it.

I will start "googling" the keywords "civil+conspiracy" to see what I can learn.

Thanks,

 

[meganproser]

I meant to write the term “reckless disregard”, sorry.

Something you have to understand is that no one defames you by telling YOU false things about yourself! It’s what they tell a third person that causes harm to your reputation.

Another thing that may affect any action you bring is that by discussing these false allegations yourself in a public forum, you may be said to have contributory negligence regarding damage to your rep. In other words, you are to blame for some of the publicity these allegations have received. This is not a major concern but it is probably something the defense will bring up.

>>The last overt act on their part occurred back in October 2004.... so I still have time to act on it.

Yes you do, but do you have any idea how much time it will take you to learn enough to write a good complaint and figure out where to file it? We are talking about dozens and dozens of hours of research in a law library. OR, you can find yourself a competent attorney with experience in these particular torts and give him about a 10K retainer.

>>I learn new things everyday.

Don’t we all? lol

 

[TexasTom]

I meant to write the term “reckless disregard”, sorry.

Does the word "reckless" connote anything different than the word "negligent" in connection to a libelers "disregard" of the truth ?

Something you have to understand is that no one defames you by telling YOU false things about yourself! It’s what they tell a third person that causes harm to your reputation.

Although the woman who sent me a threatening coercion email did not copy others on her email, she did violate a different law, which was previously addressed in this thread.

Because the members of the "civil conspiracy" seem to usually copy each other on their defamatory and provocative emails to me, I have no difficulty in proving that a third person had received those communications.

Another thing that may affect any action you bring is that by discussing these false allegations yourself in a public forum, you may be said to have contributory negligence regarding damage to your rep. In other words, you are to blame for some of the publicity these allegations have received. This is not a major concern but it is probably something the defense will bring up.

Does it matter, if I can show that my purpose in copying the libelers defamatory statement onto a public alumni forum was to repudiate its truthfulness and to discover which of the alumni board of directors was allegedly the origin of the rumor ? The libeler stated to me in email that he heard the rumor directly from a member of the alumni board of directors, but refused to identify who it was. I still don't know if he was truthful regarding the source of the false allegation about me, or if he authored the false allegation himself.

>>The last overt act on their part occurred back in October 2004.... so I still have time to act on it.

Yes you do, but do you have any idea how much time it will take you to learn enough to write a good complaint and figure out where to file it? We are talking about dozens and dozens of hours of research in a law library. OR, you can find yourself a competent attorney with experience in these particular torts and give him about a 10K retainer.

I think I like your latter suggestion. However, before I talk to a competent attorney, I really need to collect all my email evidence and other evidence into one place and organize it in some efficient manner so the attorney doesn't waste alot of time sorting through it. I think that he (or she) would prefer to have the material in a chronological storybook format, rather than in some random sequence. I also need to dig up the current mailing addresses and phone numbers of those alumni. I might also have to cash in some stock to have the whole 10K in liquid form for retainer.

Thanks for your help. I really appreciate your advice.