Slandered by a lawyer

[caliguian]

What is the name of your state? UT

Can you sue a lawyer for slander if he is saying harmful lies in public about you while you are currently in a case with one of his clients? I have read a lot of things in newspapers where the lawyer for famous person X says famous person Y is doing this, that, and the other thing, but there doesn't seem to be a problem with it, so I am wondering if that type of thing is okay and is not considered slander.

The reason that I am asking the question is because my mother recently went through a tough divorce and her (now) ex's attorney has been telling everyone and anyone a LOT of negative things about her. Things that he has been telling people are things like "she abuses her children" (with specific made-up details), "she sleeps around" (with specific made-up details), "she stole tons of money from X" (with specific made-up details), "she has been taking illegal drugs for years" (with specific made-up details), "she has lied to get free government benefitss" (with specific made-up details), etc. He has (and is still) telling all of these types of things to about anyone who will listen regardles of whether they have anything at all to do with the case at hand, and with the sole intent of ruining her professional career and her social standing to those throughout the city.

Although the divorce is final, there still remains the asset distribution stuff and the same guy is my mother's ex's lawyer. So the (what I consider) slander has been going on for about a full year with no end in sight.

So the question is, is this type of behavior considered slanderous to a court and does she have a snowball's chance in hell to sue this guy for his actions? It has caused her significant problems at work, with her friends, with her mental health, and about every portion of her life.

If this is in fact slanderous and a lawsuit can be made from it, should she wait until after the asset distribution stuff is finished or should she file the suit now?

 

[quincy]

It certainly seems, from what you've written, that your mother has legitimate grounds for a slander suit against her ex-husband's attorney. She should speak with her own attorney and seek his advice.

There tends to be more difficulty proving publication with slander than with libel, since slander is spoken (and then it's gone) and libel is written (and therefore sticks around), so testimony from those who were with the attorney when he uttered the slanderous comments is important. You must be able to prove that what you are claiming was said was actually said. If the ex's attorney did, in fact, say what you quoted, it is slander "per se" - the words are defamatory in and of themselves. Your mother could seek compensatory or general damages for injury to her reputation or causing humiliation, special damages for pecuniary loss (if the slander resulted in any monetary loss) and/or punitive damages as punishment for malicious or extremely careless slander.

As for whether your mother should wait until assets are distributed before suing, that, too, would best be discussed with her own attorney. The attorneys on this forum may have some advice for you on this.

I will tell you that lawsuits are expensive and time-consuming, and there is never a guarantee that a suit will be successful. Your mother may very well have had enough of courts and lawyers when the final aspects of the divorce are wrapped up to want to spend additional time and money on this, but I do believe she has a case for slander here.

 

[Quaere]

Although the divorce is final, there still remains the asset distribution stuff and the same guy is my mother's ex's lawyer.

How recently and in what capacity did he represent your mother? I don’t know how he could be representing her former husband without having a conflict of interest.

So the (what I consider) slander has been going on for about a full year with no end in sight.

Utah has a one-year statute of limitations on defamation. You have one year after he uttered each statement, to file a claim. You may have longer if you didn’t learn about a defamatory statement until after it was made.

So the question is, is this type of behavior considered slanderous to a court

The context in which these statements were made is critical to a defamation claim. What are the chances that one or more witnesses are going to be able to repeat verbatim what they were told? You would probably need several such witnesses to overcome the spin he is going to put on his alleged statements.

Witness A: “And then he told me that he knows she abuses her children.”

Defendant: “And then I told Witness A that the plaintiff is a real jerk and it wouldn’t surprise me if she abused her children.”

The witness' statement is defamatory.
The Defendant’s version, is NOT defamatory.

If this is in fact slanderous and a lawsuit can be made from it, should she wait until after the asset distribution stuff is finished or should she file the suit now?

The filing of a defamation claim will have no affect on the asset distribution. If she wants to file suit, she should do so as soon as possible. She already barred from bringing suit for defamation that took place more than a year ago.

 

[caliguian]

Thanks for the quick comments guys!

Although the divorce is final, there still remains the asset distribution stuff and the same guy is my mother's ex's lawyer.

How recently and in what capacity did he represent your mother? I don’t know how he could be representing her former husband without having a conflict of interest.

I think you might have misread that part... it has always been the ex's lawyer.

Utah has a one-year statute of limitations on defamation. You have one year after he uttered each statement, to file a claim. You may have longer if you didn’t learn about a defamatory statement until after it was made.

Good to know, thanks for the head's up.


If anyone else would like to chime in I am very interested in what your thoughts are on this.

 

[caliguian]

Does it matter who is making the slanderous statements? I mean if her ex is also making these false statements to everyone could he also be sued for slander? It seems that a lot of people say a lot of mean things about a lot of people, but no one seems to get into too much trouble (legally) for doing that, so what are some of the basic rules of thumb for when someone has crossed the line from gossiping (or whatever) and slandering?

 

[quincy]

One reason more people don't get into more trouble for saying mean and slanderous things is that it is expensive to sue and lawsuits consume a lot of time and energy. Usually it is just not worth the aggravation and expense.

In order to bring about a defamation suit, too, you need to PROVE, not only the defamation itself (which, when written, can be fairly easy to show, but it becomes more difficult when spoken), but also that there was "injury" - a monetary loss, a reputational loss, mental anguish and suffering, personal humiliation. You must overcome the defenses that can be used in a defamation suit, as well - truth or opinion are often used to fight a libel or slander suit. All defamation suits rest on the proofs, and sometimes they are difficult to obtain.

Saying mean things is not against the law (yet...there is legislation being introduced that may make some mean speech actionable). Slander and libel are meaner than mean, however - they are words that are false and that harm a person in more than just a hurt-feelings type of way.

And, no, it really doesn't matter WHO says the slanderous things...but it sometimes can matter WHERE they say them.