Defamation
Write a letter to HQ reporting this person for Defamation:
Defamation occurs when a communication (either oral or written) is made about a person that tends to so harm that person's reputation as to lower her in the estimation of the community or to deter others from associating or dealing with her. Defamatory statements in written form constitute libel; defamatory statements in oral form constitute slander and the penalties are similar for each. Defamatory acts are quite common, such as when a newspaper reporter misstates a private person's comments during an interview, when a former employer maliciously provides an improper job reference, and when false gossip is repeated.
For defamation to occur there must be:
A false statement made about someone;
to a third party;
which injures the person's reputation; and
no absolute or qualified privilege exists as a legal bar to the lawsuit.
No defamation exists when a poor opinion about someone is given. To be actionable, the comment offered must be a statement of fact and not an opinion. If the statement is true, this is a valid defense. If the person alleging defamation is not mentioned by name, a valid case will exist if it is clear that she was the one being talked about and the statement was made to a third party.
Damages do not have to be proved in all instances. The law treats certain statements as defamatory per se, which means that the person or business does not have to prove actual damages to win a verdict; money can be recovered simply because the statement is untrue.
Examples of per se statements are:
Accusing a person of serious misconduct in her business, trade, or profession (e.g., that a doctor or group medical practice she is affiliated with has trouble paying its bills, is discontinuing its operations and filing for bankruptcy, is financially unstable, incompetent, of poor moral character, unreliable or dishonest.)
Imputing to a person the commission of a criminal offense.
Charging a person with dishonesty (e.g., ÒShe is a crook and steals money from the companyÓ).Accusing a person of serious sexual misconduct (e.g., ÒShe is a whoreÓ).
Stating that a person has a loathsome or deadly disease (such as AIDS).
In certain situations, such as in court proceedings and the employment context, people have an absolute or qualified privilege to make defamatory statements without legal consequences. For example, statements made about people by judges, witnesses and lawyers during trials are absolutely privileged. Employers have a qualified privilege to talk about former employees when giving job references. However, this doesn't mean an employer can talk maliciously about a former employee and tell untruths in an attempt to embarrass and scuttle future job opportunities.
