'Being tapped without my consent

[latoya]

I live in a small town, and a couple of years ago, I was seeing this stupid individual. Now years later I found this individual is telling people that he has videotapped us having sex. I've never given him permission to tape me doing anything. And to top it all off he's calling my cell phone leaving harassing messages. Now my reputation is ruined. I have'nt actually seen this alleged tape. Do I have a case for slander or maybe even defamation?

 

[Michael Wechsler]

You not only have a case for slander but one where you will likely be able to get extensive damages without having to "prove" them. Common law slander states that a woman does not have to prove damages when the slanderous material falsely accuses her with regard to her sexuality. Old rule but still a good one. You will still need to provide proof of:

1) The statement was made to a third person
2) It is false (the defendant can always bring the alleged tape to disprove this)

Note that any attorney who will take any case on contingency would need to have the possibility of reasonable damages, e.g. it was told to many people, caused you great problems, etc. Otherwise, it might be small and something you may want to look into yourself.