Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Florida

I work as a Maintenance Supervisor for a school district and we had an issue with the air conditioning system at a school. My team of mechanics arrived at the school and could not fix the issue due to not having the right part which could take a day to procure as we do not stock these parts in our warehouse. Mind you this is around testing time which is a very stressful time to be without A/C in Florida. The principal was not happy with my findings and sent an email to the local superintendent stating I was "Completely unresponsive" which now is has become a possible issue with my employment. I believe this is libel as the Principal lied about my being unresponsive and also shared this information with a third party. The information (e-mail) is also public record and can be obtained by anyone. I was basically told by my superiors to "Not to push the issue" being that specific principal has a lot of pull in the district. Is this worth pursuing as a libel case against the Principal?


Asked on 5/06/15, 11:32 am

2 Answers from Attorneys
Barry Kaufman The Law Office of Barry W. Kaufman

This is really a question for an employment lawyer who represents employees, particularly government employees. A lawyer who is well versed in employment law should be able to give you the pros vs cons. There are likely several lawyers in your area with whom you can make an appointment.

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Answered on 5/06/15, 11:36 am
Barry Stein De Cardenas, Freixas, Stein & Zachary

Your libel claim may exist, but it is worth a limited amount of money because you have no actual damages. If you pursue the case you may have more damages, but they may not been compensable. Your pursuit of the claim will be costly, both because of the money and because it may cost you more with regard to the job and your position. Seek some legal help but I would abandon the thought of a libel action. You may want to respond to the Principal with a well thought out response correcting the conclusion that you were unresponsive

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Answered on 5/06/15, 11:43 am


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