Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

defamation of character

I recently moved from a rental. The landlord was not happy I was moving. He accused me of growing marijuana on the property which was not true, he went so far as to have the sheriff dept. come and check the property. Of course they found nothing. The neighbor in the unit next to the one I rented, informed me of all this. So of course she has heard the landlord bad mouth me, saying I was growing marijuana and that the sheriffs dept was called. Is this Defamation of Character? If so what can I do?


Asked on 8/05/03, 7:36 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Michael Olden Law Offices of Michael A. Olden

Re: defamation of character

yes based upon the brief facts you have given me --- what can you do is sue him for compenstory damages and punitive if the court would award them --- this is an intriguing case as since i have dealt with this kind of situtation in the past i would be happy to talk to you about this - i am in n. ca 925-945-6000

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Answered on 8/05/03, 8:40 pm
Bryan Whipple Bryan R. R. Whipple, Attorney at Law

Re: defamation of character

I don't think you have a strong case. The landlord, as owner or manager of the property, may have a right to call for a police check of suspected marijuana growing without very much probable cause. Further, you don't have any direct evidence of what the landlord told the cops or the neighbor -- it's hearsay. The neighbor may be embellishing the story. There is a strong public policy regarding reporting suspected crime, so the landlord's otherwise-defamatory statements might be protected by a conditional privilege if made under circumstances of reasonable suspicion. Finally, your damages appear to be quite slight, so your potential recovery would not warrant expending the money on attorney fees given the high risk of not winning.

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Answered on 8/05/03, 8:49 pm


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