internet defamation

ac_in_dc · September 2009

So my somewhat crazy sis has a BSC ex-husband who has put together an extensive web site trashing her. When you google her name it comes up third or fourth.It contains allegations that she abused the kids, dirty nasty details about the end of their marriage (where she had an affair) and lots of stuff taken out of context to make her look like a complete idiot and nutcase.I don't think she can easily get him for libel because of the way the info is presented; he's not lying so much as selectively presenting facts. He did use internet spyware to get some of the e-mails and intimate details about the affair she had 3 years ago.My sister isn't perfect, but she's been making a big effort in the past few years to improve herself. And she likes to date, and she's a public school teacher. It seems just wrong that she can be defamed like this.Is there anything that she can do? She doesn't have a lot of money.

salt78 · September 2009

Yeah there should be a way that she can report this for free, but I'm not sure exactly where to tell you to go. Yeah I'm helpful. I'm sorry this is happening to her. :-(

Calypso1977 · September 2009

no clue. does the website clearly indicate he's the author?

betrothed123 · September 2009

She should contact a lawyer (many do free consultations over the phone) and see what they say. I'd think there could be grounds for a lawsuit, but I'm not a lawyer.

mandapanda78 · September 2009

Yeah, she can sue him or get a "cease and desist" on him, but the problem is money. Lawyers are expensive, and so are court filings/proceedings. Was there any abuse from his end? She might be able to reach out to a local spousal abuse group for help.

Nebb · September 2009

Where is it hosted? Is there any way she can get it pulled? I really dont have any useful suggestions, but that really sucks. What an assshole.

ac_in_dc · September 2009

A couple of web sites I checked out said you can only take legal action if someone is actually lying about you. I'm afraid it would be time-consuming and expensive to prove that any of these things were actually lies, and she may just come down to her word vs. his.

Kati0105 · September 2009

I think first she should send him a formal letter requesting that he remove the defamatory content and threatening legal action should he fail to do so. I would imagine even the threat of getting an attorney involved would scare him enough to take down the website without her actually having to pay an attorney to enforce it.

J&K10910 · September 2009

IMO, this qualifies as emotional abuse, and a spousal abuse group might just be the place to start, if she can't afford an attorney upfront. At the very least, they can point her in the right direction.That's awful, and I'm sorry your sister is going through this.

ac_in_dc · September 2009

She's already spent a ton of money in court with him. It's such a time sink, and she's trying to move past their issues. Ugh. Yeah, maybe checking with the hosting company would be a good idea. shiit, I just googled it again and he's been posting links to the web site on the local craigs list. This is awful.

mrsLesGrossman · September 2009

If she doesn't have the money to pay for an attorney, she could find someone to do it pro bono- through a woman's organization, an attorney trying to get in the headlines, or someone who is a known news fixture that likes new forms of drama. The situation is different enough that it could get attention.

danieliza1127 · September 2009

I would imagine even the threat of getting an attorney involved would scare him enough to take down the website without her actually having to pay an attorney to enforce it.I agree with that. Does she have, or do you have, any friends or acquaintances who are lawyers that could just offer their opinion on the situation and maybe draft a letter?

salt78 · September 2009

Personally, I think that the fact that he took the time to put together a whole website focused solely on this outs him as a great big crazy.

Brie2010 · September 2009

If there are any law schools near you, check their websites to see if they have a legal clinic. They provide legal services, usually free of charge and always supervised by an actual lawyer. They might be able to help.Generally speaking, and this is not legal advice, accusing someone of a serious crime, like child abuse, is slander per se. If she can prove that he published the statement to a third party, she won't have to prove damages. But it varies state to state, so you need to contact someone locally.

danieliza1127 · September 2009

I just googled it again and he's been posting links to the web site on the local craigs list.You can report those. Craig's List has a flagging/report thing in place. At least that's one thing that can be done.

salt78 · September 2009

Report all the Craig's List postings. He's breaking rules by doing that.

ac_in_dc · September 2009

I would imagine even the threat of getting an attorney involved would scare him enough to take down the website without her actually having to pay an attorney to enforce it.For normal people, this is true. But this guy honestly has the sketchiest character of anyone I've ever met. I can't believe he's the father of 3 of her children. I don't think that he has any kind of functioning conscience.He cheats on taxes and lives an incredibly good life from money his mom sends him illegally from germany (he's a german citizen) and only gives my sis $450 a month for 3 kids.

salt78 · September 2009

[i]He cheats on taxes and lives an incredibly good life from money his mom sends him illegally from germany (he's a german citizen) and only gives my sis $450 a month for 3 kids.[/i] If she wants to fight dirty, report him to the IRS.

ac_in_dc · September 2009

OK. Yeah, I guess she needs to get a lawyer to look at it. I was just wondering if there was something obvious I was missing. Thanks for the kind words and support.

TheSaltyPeanut · September 2009

It does sound like a fine line. Look at how many celebrity bashing sites there are. Most fall into the category freedom of the press. There have been a couple of national stories similar to what you have just described. Is your friend being threatened? How awful.

NuggetBrain · September 2009

I would report him to the IRS, and I would report him to somebody about recieving money illegally from Germany. I would also notify the courts that he's getting money under the table from his mother, and that he needs to include that as income to get his child support payments bumped up.

NuggetBrain · September 2009

Also, contact the webmaster. If you mention that she's a teacher and he's posting this website on Craigslist and that she's considering legal action, they may take down the site simply because they don't want to be in the middle of the mess.

polichik · September 2009

What Nugget said.And yes, this is emotional abuse.

girlyjock · September 2009

How did he use the spyware? IF he hacked into her computer, she can report it to the police. Also, celebrities generally fall into a different category when it comes to websites bashing people. Because they pursued fame, and chose to be in the public eye, they have less legal recourse when a site bashing them comes up. Assuming your sister isn't a celebrity, there's a number of things she can do. Her ex, is harassing her and as long as she can provide proof that it's her ex, it is possible that her ex can be arrested. She can also try to get an injunction making him take down the site, and at the very least can use the site to get a restraining order (provided he knows where she lives and/or she's comfortable with giving him that knowledge). She can also talk to the site's server, and/or send them a letter threatening legal action. If she has a restraining order on the guy, and provides the server with a copy of that, they may drop his site.

Stackeye210 · September 2009

Do they have kids together? If so, check out if your state/county has a "Mediation" program. In our common pleas court we have a "domestic relations mediation program". All you do is request a meeting with a court appointed mediator and they send a summons to the other party involved. You meet with this 3rd party person and discuss the issues and how to better deal with your kids. When you come to an agreement (anything from times of visits, consequences of not showing for visits, all the way to not talking about the other party in a negative way) - when it's agreed upon by both parties you sign the write up that the 3rd party put together and they file it with the court. The entire thing is free to do (at least in our county it is), you may have to pay like a $20 filing fee, but it is filed as a court record and is binding with consequences if not followed through with.My best friend had to take her kids father to this and it actually worked. His girlfriend was talking about my BF to the kids saying all sorts of negative things and they signed a court document that said whoever has the kid must refrain from talking negatively and stop all other people from talking negatively around the kids.I'm sure your sister could do the same thing with this guy if they have kids together. It is too easy for the kids to find this on the internet and should be shut down because it poses a direct risk to the kids and their happiness. I hope that helps, or gives you hope that your state may have a program to help.

bigvoice3 · September 2009

Since she is a private citizen (versus a public celebrity) she has a case. I took a course in media law (and don't remember specifics) but if he snooped against her will and is publishing stuff that others don't need to know, he is at fault. He can be sued for damages. There are lots of cases like this. However, it must be clear on the site that he is the author to accuse him.

lannerjarv · September 2009

it's really hard when its the internet.i was very badly verbally bashed on someones website.. to the point where it was lies and completing trashing me and easy to find via google.there was nothing i could do. i contacted the webmaster and they ignored me.. i still to this day find the occasional post. an entire site dedicated to her however is another story, and if she has dirt on him (aka. evading taxes) then she should report him to the IRS for sure.

redheadfsu · September 2009

Not legal advice but: she is a private person so she just has to prove it is falsity & negligence. Some states have gotten rid of libel per se, so she most likely needs to prove damages. She could also try to get an injunction. But talk to a lawyer. I would recommend contacting the host of the website.

karenttrouble · September 2009

Another completely different option would be to mess with the search engine results in order to push the page back. It's complicated, but at least it would be free and not involve confrontation. Similar to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_bomb

TheSaltyPeanut · September 2009

I think you misunderstood me. I'm saying that it is not illegal to say bad things about someone. She would have a very hard time proving her case. It's certainly not legal for him to obtain her information like that. AND... Just because you are a celebrity does not mean that your rights are anything less than an "average" joe off the street.

Leah&Christian09 · September 2009

I work with an attorney who had a former, disgruntled client do something like this. He made up a website attacking the guy's professionalism and character. Some of the stuff was made up, but some of it was true, and none of it was public information. He ended up getting another attorney to write a "nasty-gram" and threaten to sue him and yada yada, and of course cited plenty of law. The guy took the website down 2 days later. I would start talking to lawyers about just writing a letter. Personally, I wouldn't charge much just to write the letter, but I'd probably want a fairly decent retainer to file a lawsuit. I'd be talking to the divorce lawyer about this. His behavior could have ramifications on his custody/visitation with their kids.

internet defamation

Re: internet defamation

Choose Another Board

Search Boards