Legal Question in Personal Injury in New York

Re: Slander by public official

In order to have a case for defamation, there must be (1) a statement (2) asserted as a statement of fact (3) which was untrue (4) that the speaker knew to be untrue when said (5) was communicated to at least one other person (6) and you have suffered damages.

These are very difficult cases to prove. Most get hung up on the requirement that the statement be asserted as "fact" and not as "opinion".

Calling you "shady" may seem like a statement of fact, but most name calling is the speaker's opinion which is protected speech under the First Amendment to the Constitution.

What is your job - it may have alot of relevance here. If, for example, you are a town clerk with the duty of taking accurate minutes of board meetings, and the board member called you a liar and accused you of falsifying minutes, that is a much better case for several reasons.

First, with witnesses, you can prove the statement made about you was untrue. Second, there are a class of categories in which damages are presumed - in the case of a town clerk, falsifying minutes is a crime, and accusing you of such acts also impugns your business reputation. Damages are generally presumed in those types of cases.

I personally know of one case where a member of the public wrote an article about a town clerk accusing her of falsifying minutes, and the town clerk won $10,000.

If you don't meet the category where damages are presumed, it sounds as if damages will be impossible for you to prove.

You need to see an attorney experienced in defamation cases. There may be a privilege for town officials while acting in their official capacities, so you want to be sure you hire an attorney who is aware of all possible defenses and won't waste your time barking up the wrong tree.