How to Sue Someone for Slander

Slander, in its broadest terms, is the act of publicly speaking injurious statements about another party, when the statements are known by the speaker to be false. You can sue someone for slander only if the false statements they spoke resulted in financial or personal loss.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Computer with Internet access
• Libel and slander lawyer (highly recommended)

Bring a Slander Lawsuit Against Another Party

1. Check your state's statute of limitations regarding personal injury law, which defamation law falls under. FreeAdvice (see Resources below) offers a helpful chart as well as direct links to state-specific information.

2. Refrain from making false public statements and/or accusations against other parties. The best way to avoid having someone sue you for slander is to avoid making slanderous statements. Only publicize those thoughts that you have reasonable grounds to believe are true.

3. Gather witnesses. Because slander, by its nature, is transitory in form, you will need eyewitness testimony to show in court that the slander actually occurred. You must also be prepared to offer hard proof that the slander harmed you in a significant way. This may mean gathering additional witnesses or disclosing financial information to the court.

4. Hire a qualified personal injury attorney or libel and slander specialist to bring a lawsuit against the party who slandered you. Browse for specialists in your state by visiting AttorneyPages.com's personal injury pages (see Resources below).

5. Try to settle your slander case out of court, if possible. It will save you considerable time and money in legal proceedings and expenses.

Tips & Warnings

• Be aware that confusion can sometimes result when dealing with cross-state laws. Some states have laws on the books specifically dealing with slander, while others consider slander under the legal heading of defamation. Defamation is the act of publicly making statements, written or spoken, which are known to be false and which cause their target harm.
• In order to overcome the protection of free speech guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the injury resulting from the slander must be proven in court beyond all reasonable doubt. The fierce protection of free speech can be problematic to people who want to sue someone for slander. However, your right to conduct your personal business free of defamation is also protected by law.

Who Can Help Sponsored

[sweety666]

on 10/20/2009 MY X WIFE IS REALLY GETTING TO ME INSIDE AND I CAN ONLY TAKE SO MUCH. SHE THRETENS ME AND USES MY SON AGAINST ME AND IS RUINING MY LIFE. I HAVE PLENTY OF WITNESSES TO PROVE WHAT SHE IS DOING TO ME BUT SHE IS SUCH A BULLY AND MANIPULATES AND TWISTS THINGS ARROUND. I FEEL LIKE I DO SO WELL THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN I WANT TO END IT ALL. PLEASE HELP

[joyce300]

on 3/24/2009 Just go to www.badreferences.com. They use Certified Court Reporters to document what sleezy supervisors tell potential employers. I used them and busted my idiot boss. Got 1.1 mil for that little episode.

[rjspmeatcst]

on 1/15/2009 CAN I SUE FOR SLANDER AGAINST MY CHILDS FATHER IF HE ACCUSED ME TO CPS AND I REGAINED CUSTODY OF MY CHILDREN AND HE CONTINUES TO TALK ABOUT ME SAYING IM A CRACK HORE AND OTHER NAMES WHEN THE KIDS WERE REMOVED FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND DURING THE REMOVAL AND HERE ON I HAVE BEEN DRUFG TESTED AND NEVER CAME OT POSTIVE AND NEVER WILL.

[ro-amawood]

on 10/31/2008 my friend has been accused of stealing money from a cancelled holiday which she never took. if fact the person involved was paid more than she was owed to put a stop to all the hassel. to this day she still accuses my friend of stealing and goes on about it to my other friend who is trying to sort a cancellation for another holiday which has nothin to do with us yet she still goes on. is there anything that can be done?

[ro-amawood]

on 10/31/2008 my friend has been accussed of stealing money she never stole from a holiday that was cancelled. the person got more than they were owed to stop all the hassel but to this day she is still telling people she has stolen from her.what can we do?