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A co-worker sent an email to his manager, his director and my manager which stated that I was trying to portray his past work as negligent and below par. He followed this with a statement that they should help stop this deceit. The email string was forwarded to me by my manager. The email string contains a number of statements about past work assignments and I had replied to some of these emails with comments as to the facts regarding lists and assignments. All of my comments are based on facts and are of public record within our corporation. I researched these lists and presented them to my management in cooperation with his management in order to develop the required work effort necessary to complete tasks on the lists. The "deceit" email is now in an email string and my name and integrity have been damaged. How do I proceed with my intent of suing this this & his manager for libel?
State/Country relating to Question: Colorado Already Tried: Just replied to the email string on Friday August 13, 2009. I have researched the net for libel definitions and understand the 4 "proofs" the plaintiff must have to support the claim. The email was sent by "Mr.x" to 3 people as stated above. A following email was from his manager stating that he has reviewed information from "Mr. x" and me which left him and send an email to my manager saying he had no resolution to the task list delegation. I have all of the emails. I plan to have a meeting with his manager and his manager's director on Tuesday next week. I need to consider our HR department and communication with them as well.
A lawyer would collect your copies of the emails, ask you to provide a list of witnesses who may be able to testify to any defamatory acts. The lawyer would look at the documents and attempt to ascertain whether there was:
1. A false statement of fact;
2. Of and concerning the plaintiff (you);
3. Published to a third party;
4. Which is reputation injuring on its face, or if not, causes
5. Actual damages to planitff, and if so, then of what value.
From a lawyer's viewpoint, numbers 4 and 5 are critical, because unles the statement is prima facie injurious (e.g., John stole money from the cash register), then unless the plaintiff can show that he/she was actually damaged in some economic manner, then it doesn't much matter what the rest of the case is about, because there won't be any recovery for the injury sustained.
There are two other torts that go along with defamation and which are frequently pled along with a defamation claim:
False light invasion of privacy: false attributions about the character of another which would be outrageous to an ordiary person, and causing damage and;
Interference with (prospective) contract: intentional interference with the current or future contract rights of another, and causing damage.
The common thread, however is that unless the plaintiff is actually damaged, there may be nothing to recover, although if the plaintiff can prove malice or reckless disregard for truth, then punitive damages are possible.
The botXXXXX XXXXXne for all of this is that while you might be able to bring these claims in Small Claims court and win the maximum $7,500 award, if your goal is big money, then you will need a civil Tort lawyer who thinks that you have either a prima facie case, or actual damages that will permit a recovery sufficient to cover the attorney's cost of doing business, which for this sort of case, could easily run $20,000-30,000+ to get to trial.
So, for a lawyer referral, see: http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/lris/directory/main.cfm?id=CO and www.martindale.com.
And, I wish you success.
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