Someone Lied About You, So What

I have mentioned before that I played baseball growing up. It is absolutely my favorite sport to play.

However, as a kid, it took me many years to appreciate the art of getting a walk. 

A walk is when the pitcher throws 4 balls (non-strikes) and you get automatically get to go to first base.

Most people think that is how a defamation case works. Someone lied about you and you get to win a court case against that person.

And sometimes that is exactly how it works.
 
The elements of a defamation case are
(1) someone says a false statement to;
(2) someone else without your permission;
(3) they did it on purpose or negligently, and;
(4) it caused special harm or defamation per se.


The first three elements are really easy to prove. Someone just has to lie about you to someone else.

It is the last element that is the determining factor. If that person lied about your sexual morality, about whether you have a disease, that you are a criminal, or lied about your business or professionalism at work, then you get automatic damages or per se damages. 

Per se damages means you don’t have to prove economic loss or injury.

If your defamation case does not fall into one of those four categories, you have a much harder time proving your defamation case.

That is because you have to prove special damages. As previously discussed, special damages are more than money. These can be:

  • Loss of profits, business opportunities, or contacts
  • Loss of product or business property
  • Damage or harm to business reputation
  • Loss of operating revenue (for example, if a business did not open on the scheduled date because construction was not completed)
  • Loss of time or other inconveniences


These are a lot harder to prove because, for example, if you claim you lost business clients, then you have to describe the lost clients by name and that you lost the clients because of the defamation.


If you can’t prove the special damages you cannot win your defamation case.  That is why, in certain cases, it does not matter if someone is lying about you and other times you have the equivalent of a baseball walk.

Thank you for reading, my business is to protect your business!

 

Watch the video above to learn more .

I would love to talk more about your business. Click here to schedule a time to talk.

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