So you’ve read our page on defamation and decided you want to sue someone for defamation.  Here are the first six (or eight) questions our office will ask you and why.

The Question:  When was the statement made?

Why We Ask: We want to know when the statement was made to determine whether you are bringing the action within the applicable statute of limitations.  A statute of limitations is a law that sets the maximum time that parties have to initiate legal proceedings.  In the case of defamation, the clock begins ticking when the alleged offense occurs and stops when a legal proceeding is filed.  The statute of limitations for defamation in New York and New Jersey is one year.  Other states have longer statutes of limitations; for instance, Florida and Connecticut both have two-year statutes of limitations for defamation. 

The Question:  Do you know who made the statement?

Why We Ask: Our law firm sues people for defamation, but we need to know who to sue.  As we previously discussed, we can’t sue companies like Facebook or Twitter for hosting defamatory content because the Communications Decency Act provides that “No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.”  To litigate your matter, we need to know who to sue.

If you’re the target of anonymous online defamation, fear not.  Our firm can and does sue online companies for certain information about people engaging in defamation online.  We routinely seek and receive from online and other companies information about users including IP addresses, cellphone numbers, e-mail addresses, linked accounts, payment details, and other information that will enable us to identify the person causing you harm which will allow you to initiate a legal action against them.

The (Two Part) Question:  Where do you live?  Where does the other person live?

Why We Ask:  We want to know where the future parties to a lawsuit live because a court needs to have personal jurisdiction over the person being sued in order to intervene.  What we are looking to figure out is whether the person who defamed you has sufficient connection with the state in which you want to sue them.  Without personal jurisdiction, a judge may dismiss your case for reasons wholly unrelated to the wrongs committed against you.  One of the basic things you want to ask yourself is whether the defendant could have anticipated being sued in this state.

The (Other Two Part) Question: What did they say, exactly?  Can you send me the statement?

Why We Ask:  The reason for our inquiry is twofold: first, all defamation complaints need to be pleaded with particularity, which means the statement at issue (as well as information about when, where, how, and to whom it was disseminated) must be contained in the complaint.  If you don’t know what is being said, or only know the gist or sum and substance of it, that’s not enough to bring a lawsuit.  The second reason we ask is because not every negative statement is defamatory.  Statements that are true, for instance, are not defamatory; neither are statements that are people’s opinions. Courts generally conclude that satire is not defamation because reasonable readers would not read or hear the satire and believe it to be true.

The Question: Where did they say it?

 Why We Ask:  As with the exact statement itself, it’s important we know where the statement was said in order for it to be pleaded with particularity.  If it was said online, we will include the URL at which the words appear or appeared in your Complaint.  We also ask this so we can preserve the evidence.

The Question:  Is there any truth to what is being said?

 Why We Ask:  While this was not always the case, in New York, when a statement is made online or in a public space, it is now necessary to include in the pleadings that the speaker made the statement knowing it was false or with reckless disregard for whether it was false.  Those considering initiating a legal action need to think long and hard about whether the person defaming them knew the statement was false or said it with reckless disregard for its falsity because defendants can get court awarded attorneys fees if they can show that a plaintiff brought a lawsuit “involving public petition and participation” that was “commenced or continued without a substantial basis in fact and law.”