Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Re: Defamation of Character by Government

Government agencies (whether federal or state) are often immune from suit under a doctrine known as "sovereign immunity." This doctrine dates back hundreds of years, when suits against the government were literally suits against the king, who would have had to pay any judgments. Not wanting to be sued, kings made themselves -- and thus their governments -- immune. The doctrine is still in effect for a variety of reasons, some of which are better than others.

There has long been an exception to sovereign immunity where the king (or the government) consents to be sued. In the U.S., this happens fairly often. Indeed, there is a law known as the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) which broadly makes the Federal government liable for wrongful conduct as if it were a private citizen. The FTCA is, itself, subject to some very broad exceptions, however, so I would need to know more about who was involved, what they said and the context in which they said it before I could assess your ability to sue them.

As for the distinctions between Defamation of Character, Libel and Slander -- Libel and Slander are two forms of the single tort known as defamation of character. Defamation, reduced to its basics, involves a false statement made to third parties by a defendant who knows (or should know) that the statement is false. There are situations where such a statement is privileged and thus immune to suit. If the defamatory statement is made verbally, then it is called sladnder; if the statement is in writing, it is libel.

Here, we know that the government made the statement, that the statement was false and that it was made to a third party -- your employer. Without more information, I can't assess whether the government knew (or should have known) that the statement was false. I also can't assess whether it was privileged or whether sovereign immunity would apply.

Please feel free to call me (310-575-3540) if you want to discuss this further.

Edward Hoffman

Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

11620 Wilshire Boulevard, #340