Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Re: what constitutes harassment & defemation/slander?

Your ex's husband is protected so long as he makes allegations to the Court or Court appointees. If he makes out of Court statments to 3rd parties you can sue for defamation and other possible torts. You need to get involved in this case and make a declaration of your own denying his allegations!!

Re: what constitutes harassment & defemation/slander?

Unfortunately, this happens a lot in divorce/custody cases. An angry spouse will make accusations in Court to get custody, or simply just to make life hell for everyone. However, until these remarks are made outside the courtroom, you can't really do anything about it. If he is stupid enough to say something outside the courtroom you have immediate grounds for slander. You can sue someone for slander if you can prove that the statements they made were false, and that they knew them to be false. Since there is a court record of his unfounded allegations, it wouldn't be hard to prove. You may not be able to get any monetary damages you win out of him, but he will think twice before ever saying anything again for the simple fact he will have to pay hundreds, if not thousands, in court and legal fees just to file an answer to the complaint and hire a lawyer.

You may also want to talk to your wife's lawyer about filing a declaration stating your position and asserting your innocense whenever this guy accuses you of abuse. This gives you a way to fight back and you can show the Court that you take these kinds of false allegations seriously.

If he is stupid enough to start telling people these lies, and you would like to proceed with filing a lawsuit, please feel free to contact my office. Your wife's attorney may be able to help you, but most attorneys who handle family law do so exclusively and usually recommend you find an attorney who handles civil litigation, my primary practice. You can reach my office by email at [email protected], or by phone toll free at 877-546-9918. I offer free, no obligation consultations on all civil matters.

I wish you the best of luck, and I hope for you and your wife's sanity that this guy keep his mouth shut!

Sincerely,

John Hayes, Esq.

Re: what constitutes harassment & defemation/slander?

With very few exceptions, you cannot sue somebody for statements they make within a legal proceeding. The statements are considered privileged. The usual way to fight this, is to convince a court to the statements are false and then ask for a court order that the other side pay your attorney fees, or the attorney fees of your spouse. Please note: although the statements made in court or in court documents are privileged and you cannot sue because of them, if the party were to repeat the same allegations outside of court, they would be no privilege for the out-of-court statements and you could then sue them for defamation.