Legal Question in Criminal Law in Minnesota

Not sure as to where I need to file my lawsuit

I was divorced in Illinois in 2000. Towards the end of my divorce/custody battle, my ex's father stated to her attorney that I sexually abused my daughter in Florida when we lived there for 3 months. He said it loud enough that myself, my mother, a family friend and my attorney heard him. Well, nothing came of it at that time. Well, I filed for change of custody in Minnesota in 2002 and was awarded custody of my two children. Towards the end of the child custody evaluation, he brought up the false allegations again. My question is, where can I file a slander/libel lawsuit against him? Can I file here in Minnesota?


Asked on 1/10/03, 8:30 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jason Kohlmeyer Manahan, Bluth & Kohlmeyer

Re: Not sure as to where I need to file my lawsuit

If he said the comments in Minnesota you could bring suit in Minnesota. You could also bring suit in Federal court, presuming he is a Ill. resident and you are Minnesota resident. However on a much more important note, slander (which is what this is) is extremely difficult to recover on, because the question is "what were your damages?" My guess is you didn't lose a job over any comments he made. Thus, my advice is to be extremely careful when retaining an attorney so that you don't spend $5,000+ and achieve nothing. On the same note, don�t attempt to file this lawsuit yourself; you won�t win because slander requires some very special pleadings to succeed. Finally, you only have two years to file a lawsuit from when he made those comments.

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Answered on 1/11/03, 10:10 pm


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