Full question:
I had a case, where attorney referred to me as litigation crazed, credit worthless and misinterpreting american dreams and american justice system and alleged extortion. We lost in trial. Appeal court reversed trial for attorney's alleged misconduct during trial of improper jury argument using terrorism, extortion, and citing criminal references in commercial dispute.I am to file attorney misconduct to this third party non-client attorney, can I sue this attorney for abusing me with discrimination inside and outside court in a civil suit? Please advice.
- Category: Civil Actions
- Subcategory: Defamation
- Date:
- State: Texas
Answer:
The answer depends on the nature of the attorney's actions outside of court and their impact on you. If the attorney made false and knowingly harmful statements about you, this could be considered slander per se, which is a type of defamation. Defamation involves communication that damages someone's reputation, causing shame, ridicule, or contempt. Statements that falsely imply you committed a crime may also qualify as libel per se.
To prove defamation, you must show three things: 1) a false statement was made about your reputation, honesty, or integrity; 2) the statement was published to a third party; and 3) you suffered damages as a result. Slander specifically refers to false oral statements that harm a person's reputation.
However, some statements made in court are considered absolutely privileged, meaning the speaker cannot be sued for defamation. This includes untrue statements made during court proceedings. To establish defamation, it must be shown that the speaker did not genuinely believe the statement or failed to reasonably investigate its truth.
This content is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Legal statutes mentioned reflect the law at the time the content was written and may no longer be current. Always verify the latest version of the law before relying on it.