Legal Question in Family Law in Illinois
can I?
i wanted to sue my ex for defamation of character and for emotional distress. how would i go about that? i tried to get my case heard on court t.v. for lack of funds but he refused and his lawyer actually treatened me emergency custody turnover if i didn't stop playing games. in-fact he's done nothing but lie about me in court and accuse me of not letting him see his son. i would never interfere with the vistitaion my ex has, but what i want to do has nothing to do with custody. the emotional distress and the c.defimation was done to me with malice. if i did sue him would that interfere/affect our custody hearings?Can i do something about his lawyer? can she just threaten me?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: can I?
Hello. You have a right to sue your
ex for slander, if it occurs outside
of court. If he makes statements in
court about you during the proceedings that are not true, you
cannot file a lawsuit against him for
slander. If he makes statements about
you outside of the courtroom in the
hallway and others hear, you can sue
him for slander. In my 21 years of
practice I have handled these matters
before. I understand your frustration. If you sue your ex for
slander, it will be a separate matter
from the custody battle. Clearly his
lawyer is trying to intimidate you
into not filing the slander suit. I
will be happy to discuss this with you
further.