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Damage to reputation
Defamation law attempts to balance your right to protect your reputation with the right of free speech.
Defamation laws allow people to sue other people who say or publish false and malicious comments.Defamation is a complex area of the law and one that is continually evolving as new technology, such as the internet, makes it easier for comments to reach the public domain.
Given the subjective nature of many comments, the difficulty in proving “damage” to a person’s reputation, the technical nature of the jurisdiction and the high costs of litigation, you need an experienced lawyer who is able to provide skilled representation, and who is prepared to advise you honestly on the risks involved.
Our team of defamation practitioners have run many successful cases for people who have been damaged by defamatory conduct.
What is defamation?
If someone says or does something that injures your reputation then this is defamation. Defamation can be oral (slander) or written (libel). Slander could be comments made at a meeting or at a party, while libel could be pictures or words published in a newspaper, on the television or on the internet.Defamation may even be by conduct – even if words are not heard by someone, a person’s actions can be defamatory.
What our clients say
Recent Successes
Your reputation is precious
You might think that bringing a defamation case is only for the rich. This is not the case – with our expert assistance it is important that you not allow people to run roughshod over your reputation.You are not born with a reputation – it is something that you acquire over your lifetime. It is a precious thing and if your reputation is damaged it may be impossible to get it back unless you pursue your rights.
You need to be prompt. Under the law as it currently stands, you only have 12 months from the date of publication within which to bring defamation proceedings. This is why it is important that if you think someone has said or done something that brings you into disrepute you should contact us immediately.
Defences to defamation
Any comment that brings a person into ridicule or disrepute is likely to be defamatory. People make defamatory statements almost every day. However, because of the various defences to defamation, people only use defamation law to protect their reputation in certain situations.
Many comments that are made are defamatory – the law allows many of these comments to be made. The real question is not whether a comment is defamatory; it is whether the law gives you the right to say it. If you do, then you have a legal defence.
There are many types of defences but the main types are:
- Justification (truth)
- Absolute Privilege (such as statements said in Court or Parliament)
- Qualified privilege
- Honest opinion
Mere “vulgar abuse” has been held by the Courts not to be defamatory.
Do you have a case?
You might not think that you have a case in defamation. If you take advantage of our free, confidential no-obligation consultation service we will be able to promptly tell you whether you have a case. We can either meet with you face to face or take instructions via the telephone and/or e-mail to provide you with a quick, prompt and honest assessment of your case.
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