Legal Question in Civil Rights Law in Florida

Dear Sirs or madams;

On a public web site a letter was written and it is not true it attacks my and my roommates character. I would like to know if this is a deformation of character suit.

The Letter is on Ichetucknee Views.com web site and titled truth or consequences.

It accuses me of entering and rummaging through papers of an organization.


Asked on 9/15/09, 12:37 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Sarah Grosse Sarah Grosse, Esquire

I took a look at the posting. You are the President's significant other, I take it? Allegedly entering the clubhouse and rummaging through records?

Defamation is false statements of fact made to others which cause damage to another's reputation. Here, you are accused of nothing more than entering the clubhouse and rummaging through records. She did not accuse you of altering records, stealing records, or even improperly accessing the records. What she is implying is just that you may have had knowledge of what the records contain, but she doesn't even go so far as to say that. If you actually did have access to the records and looked in a file cabinet, she did not lie. Additionally, the false statements must cause DAMAGE to your reputation, and to be actionable, the damage must be quantifiable, e.g. you lose your job or lose business.

The lengthy post containing various other statements to the affect of "he is not doing his job" [the President] are mostly statements of opinion and are overall not defamatory, in my opinion.

These types of cases are very difficult to prove. I do not see that you could prove damages in this situation, but if you feel you are damaged (in the legal sense), you should have a consultation with an attorney to discuss all the details.

Best of luck.

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Answered on 9/15/09, 3:13 pm


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