Defamation lawsuits are not easy to win because the plaintiff must both prove the difficult elements of his or her case and avoid the many defenses to defamation.
Even after a trial verdict, the losing party may file an appeal, potentially adding months or years to the timeline. Most cases, however, are resolved before trial – often through negotiated settlements.
Attorneys do not typically handle defamation claims on contingency because such claims tend to be less than certain, are almost never covered by insurance, and collecting on a judgment that is not covered by insurance is uncertain unless the defendant is very wealthy and has a lot of assets.
A defamation case is a serious legal action, which means you'll want an expert defamation lawyer to help present your case. Furthermore, you'll need one who understands the complexities the age of the Internet has introduced to these kinds of cases.
With respect to statements which are defamatory per se the damages to one's reputation is presumed and, as such, an allegation of special damages is not necessary. A claim for defamation must be stated with particularity. If not, it might be dismissed by a New York Court.
Truth is an absolute defence to defamation. The defendant must prove that the defamatory statements were, in fact, true. For instance, if the statements concern the quality of goods or services, the defendant could provide independent testing or other evidence supporting the truth of the claims.
It is critically important to recognize that Falsely Reporting an Incident can either be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony. As such, it is punishable by up to one year in jail and as much as up to seven years in state prison.
There is no sentence for defamation. It is a civil law matter for which actual and punitive monetary damages may be assessed if the plaintiff prevails.
The plaintiff bears the burden of proving that the harmful statements are false. By examining whether the defendant's statement would have an effect different from a proposed statement by the plaintiff, courts test whether a statement is false.