Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Virginia

Re: what can be done about slander?

Slander is like the weather. Everybody talks about it but nobody seems able to do anything about it.

In your case, if the guy put it in his divorce pleadings, that's privileged and he can't be sued for it. (Nor, thankfully, can attorneys be sued for statements in pleadings.)

On the other hand, if he states it openly to a neighbor and the accusations are, in fact, false, that's classic slander.

Question is: what can you do about it? Suing the offender is often impractical for the simple reason that it is generally not the Rockefellers, Kennedys or Mellons who go around slandering other people. Put another way, I've often said, if you've got the filing fee, you can sue anybody for anything; it's getting any money out of them that's the real trick.

In other words, if the slanderer doesn't have a deep pocket from which a judgment can be collected, it is going to be next to impossible for you to even get an attorney to pursue it for you.

There is, however, a criminal statute that can effectively deal with the problem.

� 18.2-417. Slander and libel.

Any person who shall falsely utter and speak, or falsely write and publish, of and concerning any female of chaste character, any words derogatory of such female's character for virtue and chastity, or imputing to such female acts not virtuous and chaste, or who shall falsely utter and speak, or falsely write and publish, of and concerning another person, any words which from their usual construction and common acceptation are construed as insults and tend to violence and breach of the peace or shall use grossly insulting language to any female of good character or reputation, shall be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor.

The defendant shall be entitled to prove upon trial in mitigation of the punishment, the provocation which induced the libelous or slanderous words, or any other fact or circumstance tending to disprove malice, or lessen the criminality of the offense.

(Code 1950, � 18.1-256; 1960, c. 358; 1973, c. 526; 1975, cc. 14, 15.)

Law review. - For survey of Virginia tort law for the year 1975-1976, see 62 Va. L. Rev. 1489 (1976). For article on modern defamation law in Virginia, see 21 U. Rich. L. Rev. 3 (1986).

Although the burden of proof (beyond a reasonable doubt) is higher than for a civil suit (by a preponderance of the evidence), that's probably the best hope for action and results in most neighborhood slander cases.

Re: what can be done about slander?

Sure, you can do something about it. You can hire a lawyer at about $150-$200 per hour, minimum, and file suit against the party and his lawyer for defamation. Information stated in pleadings is subject to a qualified privilege, so you'll have to prove actual malice - i.e., you were identified as an adulterer for a wrongful purpose (fraud on the court is an example). In addition, since in Virginia, adultery is a crime of serious sexual misconduct, you don't have to prove actual damages, it's defamation "per se".

Question is whether it's worth it to you to spend that kind of money. Why not just show up as a witness and show the guilty party off as a liar?

Btw, I disagree w/another opinion involving a criminal charge for breach of peace - the action or words involved have to be such as will result in an immediate breach of peace: person to person confrontation. That statute doesn't apply in this case.