Do I have a legitimate case of "Defamation of Character" due to a former employer telling a 3rd party (who repeated it to me and a DLSE commissioner)during an informal conference for non-payment of vacation, that I "gave myself a raise" (stealing money) without his knowledge? Any authorization for the raise has "disappeared" from my personnel file.
Optional Information: Country relating to Question: United States Already Tried: Nothing. I planned to email my former employer (owner/president), cc: the vice-president and the 3rd party employee who repeated the statement at the DLSE conference stating my former employer is lying, he authorized my raise, and to stop this slander. Should I skip the email and find an attorney?
Civil Code 47(a) creates an absolute privilege for statements made as part of any judicial action or proceeding authorized by law, including the initiation of any proceeding which is reviewable by writ of mandate (Code Civ. Proc. 1084). A DLSE wage claim proceeding is reviewable by writ of mandate to the Superior Court, therefore, the statements made by anyone at the conference is absolutely privileged and no defamation action will survive a motion to dismiss or a demurrer claiming lack of subject matter jurisdiction. See e.g., Lebbos v. State Bar (1985) 165 Cal.App.3d 656 Hope this helps. NOTICE: My goal here is to entertain while educating the public about the law. I hope my answer is useful and informative to you. During our conversation, the website may ask you to rate my answer. If you rate my answer lower than the middle rating, then the website retains your entire payment, and I receive nothing. It is entirely your choice as to how you rate my answer. However, because your payment to me is in the nature of a donation/gift, rather than as compensation for any services rendered, you are entitled to know how your rating affects the final distribution of your donation. If you need to contact me again, please put my user id at the beginning of your question ("To Socrateaser"), and the system will send me an alert. Please Click the following link for IMPORTANT LEGAL INFORMATION. Thanks and best wishes!
I want to clarify my understanding of your answer. Are you saying no defamation of character took place because all statements are privileged in that nothing stated can be later used against any of the participating parties of the legal action? Please explain what a "demurrer claiming lack of subject matter jurisdiction means. Thank you.
Are you saying no defamation of character took place because all statements are privileged in that nothing stated can be later used against any of the participating parties of the legal action? A: The statements may be defamatory/reputation injuring. However, because they occurred during a DLSE preliminary investigation, which may lead to legal action against the employer, the defamatory statements are privileged, under Civil Code 47(a), and so they cannot be used in a subsequent legal action to prove defamation of character.Please explain what a "demurrer claiming lack of subject matter jurisdiction means. A: My apologies for the legalese. A demurrer is a legal pleading that basically means, "Even though everything in plaintiff's complaint to the court is true, the complaint does not amount to a claim for which the court can provide any relief -- therefore, the case must be dismissed."I realize that this is highly annoying -- however, there are a number of different legal circumstances in California where a person cannot sue, due to Civil Code 47(a), because it creates a "litigation privilege" that cannot be overcome. The concept behind the law is that people should not be afraid to provide testimonial evidence to law enforcement or during a legal action, because of the threat of being sued in a subsequent action. Hope this helps. NOTICE: My goal here is to entertain while educating the public about the law. I hope my answer is useful and informative to you. During our conversation, the website may ask you to rate my answer. If you rate my answer lower than the middle rating, then the website retains your entire payment, and I receive nothing. It is entirely your choice as to how you rate my answer. However, because your payment to me is in the nature of a donation/gift, rather than as compensation for any services rendered, you are entitled to know how your rating affects the final distribution of your donation. If you need to contact me again, please put my user id at the beginning of your question ("To Socrateaser"), and the system will send me an alert. Please Click the following link for IMPORTANT LEGAL INFORMATION. Thanks and best wishes!
Experience: Retired (mostly)