Can our rental company contact my husband's employer and slander him?

Full question:

We're hoping to understand if we have a slander case on our hands. My family was living in a temporary rental home due to a corporate relocation. A few weeks before we moved to a permanent residence, I was pulling into the garage in my car and was about 2/3 in, when the garage door reversed and came down on the car roof. Fortunately for us, there was no damage to my car and my daughter and I were not injured. We notified the rental company right away and they said they would get someone out right away to fix it. We took pictures of car and door to make sure it was documented. Shortly after this happened, the rental company completely changed their tune and started accusing me of having run into the garage door. I explained to them that first of all, I did not, and second, the pictures totally disprove this theory. If I had run into the the garage door, it would have hit the front of my car. The pictures clearly show that the door landed on the rear of my vehicle. (We also found multiple cases on the internet of defective garage doors doing the same thing). In any case, the rental company tried to get us to pay for it, and we refused because the door was defective, and because we are not the owners of the house. Which brings me to my question. We found out from my husband's human resources department today that the rental company called them to complain about their employee (my husband) and explained that we hit the garage door with our car and are lying about it. Complete fabrication, and obviously they intend to harm my husband's reputation with his company. Have we been legally slandered?

• Category: Civil Actions
• Subcategory: Defamation
• Date: 04/07/2025
• State: Arizona

Answer:

I am prohibited from giving a legal opinion. It will be a subjective matter for the court to determine, based on all the facts and circumstances involved. The answer will depend in part on the nature of the investigation by the rental company and the harm suffered at the place of employment.

Slander is a type of defamation, a false statement communicated to another person that damages another’s reputation by exposing them to disrespect or ridicule from other people. The basic elements of a claim of slander include;

1. a defamatory statement;

2. published to third parties;

3. which the speaker or publisher knew or should have known was false; and

4. that caused the plaintiff injury as a result of the statement

Unlike libel, unless the slander is defamatory per se (on its face), damages caused by slander must be proven by the plaintiff. Damages for slander may be limited to actual damages unless there is malicious intent. It does not have to be proven that actual harm to your reputation occurred to collect damages for slander if it is defamatory per se, such as:

* The communication affects your business, trade or profession (loss of business, discharge, demotion, etc.),

* Implies you committed a crime,

* Leads on that you have a loathsome disease,

* Or suggests that you are somehow sexually impure.

Defamation is a difficult wrong to prove, as there are various factors that are to be taken into consideration. The court must evaluate the defendant’s investigation, or lack there of, concerning the accuracy of the statement. How thoroughly the investigation was handled will reflect upon the nature and interest of the person who communicated the statement. Generally, defamation damages will not be awarded if the defendant had an honest but yet mistaken belief in the truth of the statement.