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What Type of Records Can Be Used to Prove a Statement Was True

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  • 10-29-2011, 05:02 PM
    noelle03
    What Type of Records Can Be Used to Prove a Statement Was True
    My question involves defamation in the state of: OK

    At my company an employee sent anonymous email to a superior's wife (from his work computer), telling her the superior is having an affair with a coworker and also reported this to the HR department (as it is a violation of company policy). While the employee may very well believe the accusations are true, there are no facts to support it and the company has dismissed the complaint as groundless. This employee has also made it clear to many people that he does not like the superior and would like to see him fired, which could show malice, right? Could this employee be in serious danger of being sued by the two people he accused? If so, how can he defend himself? If he made the statement with no facts or evidence, when he is faced with a lawsuit can he then investigate the plaintiffs further by looking at emails, phone records and text messages in an attempt to prove that it was true? Or would he have to prove that his statement was true based only on what he knew when he made the statement? Thanks in advance for your answers.
  • 10-29-2011, 05:06 PM
    cbg
    Re: What Type of Records Can Be Used to Prove a Statement Was True
    Who are you in this situation?
  • 10-29-2011, 05:10 PM
    Dogmatique
    Re: What Type of Records Can Be Used to Prove a Statement Was True
    The employee is frankly more likely to be in danger of being fired than sued for defamation.

    Defamation suits are very costly to litigate in terms of both time and money (think several years and tens of thousands of dollars, and attorneys will not take these cases on contingency unless there is a promise of a huge monetary award - highly unlikely in this scenario).

    If the employee is actually served, he must speak with an attorney himself. Defending such a suit could bury him financially even if there's no merit to the suit itself.

    And of course the employee frankly needs to keep his nose out of other people's business.

    Quote:

    Quoting cbg
    View Post
    Who are you in this situation?


    Oh, I can take a guess ;)
  • 10-29-2011, 05:12 PM
    noelle03
    Re: What Type of Records Can Be Used to Prove a Statement Was True
    A coworker who saw him send the email. While I did not do it, I was with him when he did it and I am afraid I may be sucked into this situation as well, since I was a party to it.
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