Can something be slander or libel if the accusation is not distributed widely? Let’s say I’m in a private golf club and I have an issue with the club board and actions they have taken. So, other members of the club and I get together and write a letter, something that we believe to be true, and we send it to the board.
Let’s say there are accusations of bad faith and bad behavior in the letter. The board receives the letter and now accuses the club members of slander and libel, since they believe the accusations to be false.
Let’s say the letter was signed by the members and sent to the board, and went no further. Can something be slander/libel if the information never leaves a small group? Does there have to be actual damages in order for there to be slander/libel?
Okay, so there are two parts. There are the actions themselves. And there is your opinion about how those actions appear to reflect an abuse of discretion, bad faith, etc.
“You abused your authority and acted against the club’s interest.”
“That thing you may or may not have done, that we can’t prove you did, we are going to treat the situation as if you did those things and tell you how we feel about it!”
“That specific thing you did, which is a provable fact, appears to reflect these things that are our collective opinions and we are making it known to you.”
Truth is protected. Opinions are protected. Saying or treating something as truth, and writing about it as if it is true, even though it is not true, that could be defamatory.
There certainly could be (hypothetically, not necessarily on the facts here). We had a case where the only audience for the defamation was a potential employer. We got 7 figures from the jury). “Publication” in defamation cases doesn’t have to be widespread. One person is enough.
That’s the issue, opinions are not actionable. If they are misstating the “actions,” then perhaps you have something.
I can see a clear case for damages there. In this case, where the members sent a letter to the club board, I don’t see how there can be damages – let’s say the letter said that the board, including, say, a lawyer, appear to have acted in bad faith. Unless the members go the bar with it, what are the damages?
Did anyone in your group tell other club members of their accusations, or that they sent a letter to the board? Did any other club members resign from the club?
A third party has to be involved for libel and slander.
Maine does have an anti-SLAPP law. The point of such laws is to allow the defendant in a libel/slander case to get the case dismissed before the defendant accrues large legal fees. The point of the law is to discourage libel/slander cases intended to shutdown criticism.
At the very basic level it means that the person suing has to state a case for which they can get relief. So “RitterSport lied about me embezzling money from the golf society, and that caused other members to fire me as their financial advisor,” would allow relief, but “RitterSport wrote a letter that hurt my feelings,” not so much.
It also means that if the court does the thought experiment of assuming every claim made by the person suing is true, would the case have a possibility of winning. So “RitterSport wrote that I stole $50 from the cash box, and because of that I lost business,” could be statements of fact the court can evaluate, and if true would win a libel/slander case. “RitterSport called me a hack golfer,” is a clearly an opinion, and even if you said it, and it caused damage, it was still protected speech.
What are the financial effects?
Did you lose a job because of something someone said? Cost you money, etc. Because courts usually award compensation only for real damages. They don’t just pull a rabbit out of the hat and award you money unless real damages can be shown. People forget this when they want to sue someone. Were there any real damages?
a) Is it a false statement of fact/did you go to any effort to find out whether it was a false statement of fact?
b) Is it defamatory?
c) Did you tell someone else?
d) Did the person involved suffer damages?
The four elements required for libel/slander (I am not a lawyer).
a) “Billy sucks!” is not a statement of fact.
b) Andy_L is right-handed is false, and would annoy me, but is not defamatory (unless I’m president of the Lefties Association, I suppose). Some statements are presumed defamatory (Jane Roe is a murderer or John Doe has a sexually transmitted disease)
c) Writing a letter to a board of directors is telling someone!
d) If no one on the board cares that you cheat at poker, then no libel or slander
No one left the club or told anyone outside the club. I don’t see how there could be damages, with no information getting out. Everything seems to be phrased like an opinion, to my non-legal eyes.
Probably not libel. Libel happens when A makes an untrue statement about B and publishes it to C.
The publication to a third party is the important factor. If A makes an untrue statement about B, sends it to B and nobody else hears about it, then it isn’t libel.
You can sue for defamation if a false statement has been made about you by someone and that statement is made to a third person; ie it must not be made to you.
What if the words were said to me?
If words are said to you directly, you will not have a claim for defamation. For a defamation claim, the words must have been delivered to another person, other than yourself.
I guess it might depend on if the same allegations are levelled against all the board members. If all the board members get the same error saying all 12 of board members are having satanic orgies on golf club property and not cleaning up afterwards. Then I think there is no damage done? If the club secretary also gets the letter and is not included in the allegations then there is damage done to the board members (mainly the deep offense caused to the secretary as he was not invited ).
IANAL though.
Also could the fact that this letter will get out, even if it was only sent to the board members, be a valid reason to claim damages? Even if the sender had no part in it, people are going to learn of the allegations in this letter. If the local paper learns of it and publishes it (without claiming the allegations are true, just reporting on the contents, and who sent it, without comment), would that be a reason to sue the sender of the letter?
It’s not actually a private golf club, it’s an even smaller organization. The only way it would get out is if the recipients decided to share it, which I think makes it not slander (from one of the posts above).
).