What rights do I have when someone slanders you
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What rights do I have when someone slanders you
What can you do when someone calls
you a ugly name in front of a lot of
people. A name that degrades your
character
Asked on May 3, 2017 under Personal Injury, Georgia
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
Defamation (slander is spoken or oral defamation; libel is written) is *only* when an untrue factual assertion is made about you to others, which untrue fact damages your reputation. For example, say that someone accused you of having sex with his/her spouse: that is a factual assertion. If it is untrue (you did not have sex), you may be able to sue him/her for defamation (the amount of money you could recover would be related to the situation--where you work, your size community, how widely the defamation became known, etc.--and how much you can show it harmed you).
But say that instead of making a factual allegation, the just called you a "slut" (or whatever the male equivalent of a slut is): that is just an ugly name and/or an opinion, but is not backed up by any factual assertions. Therefore, it is not defamation and you can't sue. Only untrue factual assertions may be defamation.
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