According to the Florida Bar Association, defamation is defined as an intentional action to tarnish the reputation or good name of another person, with slander or libel. The truth of the matter is that this can happen to anybody, placing jeopardy on your merits, goals, and livelihood. In one of our previous articles, we defined the legal definitions of specific instances of defamation on the basis of libel, and public opinion on these matters. These terms are extremely important when it comes to the judicial process of your case. Nonetheless, today we want to offer you a detailed account on the specific complexities regarding slander only, and why it’s crucial that you hire a lawyer when seeking to attain justice and compensation.
Before we proceed, we wish to remind you that you have the complete and utter right to defend yourself, especially when someone else decides to attack your reputation on the basis of misinformation, deceit, and ill intent. However, you cannot achieve this task alone. You will need the expert guidance of a defamation lawyer in South Florida in order to protect your rights, provide counsel, and attain your reparation.
The Costs
The popular saying goes “nothing in life is free.” Well, as much as we wish that there wasn’t so much truth to that, defamation cases represent that saying one hundred percent. Even so, these cases are one of the most expensive within legal practice. However, there is no need to be discouraged because if you hire a lawyer for your defamation case, the firm tends to pay for all legal costs throughout the case. Too good to be true? Not at all, this is because, within a defamation case, the expenses tend to rise since the attorney needs to create a thoroughly precise investigation. The firm will take care of rounding up key witnesses, evidence, and interrogations.
Legal Basis Of Slander
Now that we got the costs out of the way, and you are aware that your biggest advantage in attaining justice resides in the economic coverage of a law firm to validate your suit, let’s get into specifics.
- When delving into the essence of slander, an intent of ill practice against your well-being has to be proven. However, this has to be a statement that is formally published against your will and an utterly false piece of information creating harmful repercussions. Furthermore, the restatement of torts defines defamatory statements as communication that tends to harm the reputation of another, lowering him in the estimation of the community, or with the purpose to deter third persons from associating with him.
- We mentioned above that a defamatory statement has to be published. As we define publication within this case, we must define it as anything qualifying a communication of the information to a third party. Videos on social media, posts on public property, or shared voice recordings will suffice to be categorized as negligent slander.
After getting your facts straight regarding slander, you will have to proceed with actually filing your case. As complex as it may be, your attorney will facilitate the following tasks when suing:
- File the original complaint: By filing the complaint, the lawyer will help you validate the document that begins the lawsuit.
- Serve the complaint: After you file the complaint, your attorney will help you officially “serve” the defendant following the service rules in the State of Florida.
- Conduct the discovery: After the service is completed, you and the defendant will send each other all the pertinent questions involved with your case. You will also be required to provide documents that heighten the value of your claim. Your attorney will be able to guide you through this process, counseling you on how to prepare those documents.
- Attend the settlement negotiations: This is the point where you decide whether to settle the case or go to trial. Your attorney’s advice will be very useful as they have ample experience on these issues. Therefore, depending on the circumstances within your case, he or she will advise which is the best route to take moving forward.
Now that you are more educated on the to do’s when deciding to move forward with a defamation case, specifying on slander, we hope that you will opt to hire a legal expert that will vehemently fight for your rights at all legal costs. Furthermore, we are pleased to inform you that the Offices of Scott J. Senft, The Lawyer, are equipped with the most competent, professional, and result-driven attorneys in the South Florida area. They have the necessary experience necessary to deal with the complexities that arise with a slander case. Pick up the phone, and call them now!
