Dealing With Libel

Have you ever been in the position whereby somebody, either known or unknown to you, is trying to besmirch your good name or acusing you of doing something that you did not do? If so then it may well be that you had a legal case for prosecuting the said parties of slander, Libel, or deformation of character.

Do not be mistaken for a minute, such cases are extremely common and many people think that it is their born right to say what they like about who they like, some even consider it to be a national passtime, a free for all to trample others into the ground and leave them mortally wounded and beyond any hope of recovery.

Such people are manipulative bullies who, for the most part are incapable of advancing their interests by ligitimate means and resorting to such tactics is one of their only means of advancing their cause.

Others do it for shere malace. In their eyes, having a jucy tit bit to spread about someone will get them noticed socially, at least by the type of person who is impressed by the apparent misfortune of another.

In any case, to many it seems a task too great to take on the agressor and far too many people just roll over and ride out the storm or at best decide to have it out with the agressor in open hostility which often leads to physical fights.

Either way, there is no need to suffer the injoury and there is certainly no need to take the law into your own hands by fighting or having the agressor beaten beyond recognition because the alternative is to take the said person to court and in doing so earn substantial monetary compensation.

Many people are put off by not knowing how to collect evidence that would prove that you were the victim of Libel, slander or deformation of character or indeed any combination of these crimes against you. As a citizen you have rights and to wave these rights is a disservice to yourself.

In some cases it is clear cut, documented and written in black and white or you may have witnesses who are willing to testify on your behalf. In such cases all you need to do is to make a claim through the legal channels in your country and make a charge against the person or persons who have infringed your rights. In other cases it is more difficult. May I say at this stage that I would like to add MALICIOUS CONSPIRACY to our list of legal claims.

Often, one of the ways that people will plot and take action in infringing your rights is to conspire with others and to make irroneous claims against you and present you with these claims in the knowledge that you have no real way of defending yourself. Such claims may well constitute infringements of the law and need to be dealt with. One good example of this is in cases in which people may conspire to remove you from a position in order to place a family member into the same position that is by rights yours. 

So, you have no evidence, no way of repairing the damage that has been done to you by such persons. How can you clear your name, retreive what is rightfully yours and get the compensation that you deserve? I will talk about this presently. But first I would like to talk about why people decide not to go ahead with such actions. The reason may me monetary, to many the thought of lawyers bills is more frightning than the damage done to them. It may also be the case that you may be afraid of reprisal.

In the first instance, you should not be afraid of legal expenses because once you have one the case legal costs will be awarded to you. One thing to remember is to talk with the lawyer exactly what cut of the award he wants and to stipulate that in no instance may he be able to claim more than thirty percent of the award plus his legal costs, to be removed only from what is awarded by the court and in the case that he looses the case, you are not to pay him anything. (get all of this in writing).

In the cases of fear of reprisal, this fear will be partly taken care of by the way in which you gather evidenece and partly by use of the legal system.

The way to gather evidence is to employ the services of a reputable private investigator. What he will do is to approach the offender and to use tactics that will get him to talk about the way he is treating you and why. Offenders have natural insecurities and they need to feel that they have allies. A seasoned private investigator will know exactly how to tap into these insecurities and use them to your advantage. He will use recording devices to register the information officalally and may even decide to put a recording device onto all of your phone lines. This will give him more evidence and should the offender become agressive over the phone he will be able to present this evidence to the police and have action taken against him.

Good private investigators will agree to having their fee paid from the proceeds of the award given by the court. They will know what the likely outcome will be by hearing the elements of your claim. One will be the story itself and the other will be in knowing which lawyer you have employed. If your choice of lawyer causes them reason to be concwerned they may well suggest the service of another lawyer. They have much experience in these matters. Likewise, a good lawyer may well put you onto a good private investigator.