?slanderous neighbors?

[gr8smile1966]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Upstate New York

hello--

This is kind of complex (I have loads of issues! ), but I'm hoping that someone can weed through the facts (as I present them, of course) and give me a clue as to whether I have a legitimate gripe... I will try to keep this as short and to the point as possible...

I work for an upstate power company. Worked there 18 years, lived in present home for 8 yrs. Recently, streetlight in front of my house went out. My company is responsible for maintenance on the streetlights. They came out to replace the light and my husband asked the repairman if there was something he could do to reduce the light output onto our property. (we didn't realize until then that we could have made an official complaint about the light years ago)... so anyway, the repairman blacks out part of the light for us. I have nothing to do with this, as I am at work myself when it takes place. and this is a common procedure that is taken when there is complaints about streetlights.

My neighbors get pissed about the "blacked out" streetlight and calls my company to complain about the blacked out light. But they didn't stop there. I saw the complaint that they phoned in, and the complaint made the rediculous claim that I had climbed the pole myself and shut the light off myself. The neighbors weren't satisfied with the phone rep's answer that it wasn't possible for me to climb the pole to shut the light off, so they insisted on talking to a supervisor. The bottom line is that they were making false allegations about me to my employer (why??? -- my best guess is they were willing to say whatever it took to get their way).

My question is, is this libel, slander, or defamation of character, and do I have any recourse? I am sick and tired of these petty people who will do or say anything to get what they want, even if it means lying about someone else--especially since it seems that their complaint was designed to try and get me in trouble at my job.

Does anyone know enough about NY state law that can direct me to the proper section of the law so that I can read it myself to gain a better understanding of the law?

Thanks for any input!
gr8smile

 

[rmet4nzkx]

What are your damages? Everyone knew they were just upset and making assumptions (opinions) it's not like making a false police report.

 

[gr8smile1966]

I don't know of any damages yet. I am still working through the streetlight issue with the Village authorities and the power company (altho an employee, I am still a customer)... I think the potential for damage is there, if my company decided to investigate the allegation and/or deny me the right to have my complaint about the streetlight handled fairly.. I also think that the intent to cause me damage by getting me in trouble at my place of employment was evident in that they insisted on speaking to a supervisor to hear their complaint when the phone rep didn't give them a reply that satisfied them.

I guess that I'm wondering that even though there may not have been actual damages (luckily so far at least), the intent to demean my character at work is obvious -- and that could get me fired, causing significant financial damage. Their statement was beyond false and intended to cause an effect, do I have a basis to sue if only to make them realize that they can't be making false statements against people on a whim (even if they were "just upset").

I am not wanting to do this for money, but to stop these lies before they do start to damage me (financially, as in losing my job). These people don't have any money to give anyway. I guess I just want to put them in their place legally before they start to find whackier things to say about me.

Unfortunately, I forsee this escalating when the streetlight incident is finally resolved, and although me climbing a pole in the middle of the night under a bright streetlight to shut it off is a probably about as outlandish you can get, I'm worried that accusations that aren't so laughably nutty (and politically charged) may come about --causing undue inspections into aspects of my life that I feel to be intrusive of my privacy - all because these people are just upset and willing to say anything they want to get what they want.

I just want to live unobtrusively and be left alone. The only reason I would want to sue is to make them see that there are legal ramifications for falsely accusing anyone of anything, even if they are "just upset". What if the next time they are falsely accusing me of some heinous crime that sullies my reputation even if they are proven to be untrue? How can you put a price on a good reputation?

Does a police report need to be involved in order to file a suit for slander/libel/defamation??

I guess if I posed the question differently (and much shorter in context)--

Can anyone call your employer and allege easily proven false statements about you specifically committing illegal acts? Is this a lawful activity? And do I have any recourse if it is not?

I thank you for your opinion....

 

[rmet4nzkx]

You have no damages, let them investigate, what harm will that do? If anything it will show them for what they are. Chalk it up to another crazy customer story and have a good laugh.

 

[gr8smile1966]

Thank you for your reply.

The harm of the investigation?? I see a lot of harm in that-- loss of privacy, undue attention to my private life based upon a false allegation -- rumor mills run rampant amongst the Village and my company-- who knows where the story will end up? I guess the bottom line is that I wish to discredit their allegation before it ends up really harming me. This isn't just another weird customer story. This is one where I have to continue to live across from these people and be cognizant of every move I make for fear of doing something that could be misconstrued as inappropriate. After all, I have rats living in the neighborhood, eager to feast upon any morsel of crap that rolls their way.

 

[rmet4nzkx]

What is the investigation going to show? You were at work when your husband asked the technition about adjusting the amount of light shining onto your propertym a valid request. How on earth is that going to cause you any harm, you are overracting. You are going to have to wait until they really do something actionable.