Defamation of character in custody situation

[Fonta]

My ex husband who lives in a different state is petitioning the court to gain custody of our two daughters, age 11 and 13 (he opposed them moving with me to begin with and the court ordered that we be allowed to relocate). He wants them to move back and live with him, but has nothing that he can say about my parenting that is bad or would merit loss of custody, so he has proceeded to attack my new husband.

My ex and his family have told the appointed Guardian ad Litem that my new husband takes "showers with his 8 year old daughter" (my step daughter), and insist that my new husband will "sexually abuse" my two daughers. The accusation is completely untrue. The GAL (who I think buys into the accusation) has proceeded to discuss this very personal accusation with other members of the family including my mother, my ex's parents, and attorneys involved.

My new husband has 50/50 custody of his three children, and these type of allegations could jeopardize his custody in addition to our losing custody of my girls. He is also a volunteer coach for the kids' hockey and soccer teams and he worries that these remarks will damage his ability to continue these activities.

Would the comments made by my ex husband be considered defamation of character or slander? We are not seeking money for this, we just want these slanderous, completely un-founded statements and the damage that they will cause if they continue to stop. Thanks for any insight you can provide.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

It would absolutely be considered defamation and are akin to those known as "per se" where damages are not needed to be proven since they are inherent in the accusation. In this instance it would seem that all the elements to make a defamation case are there -- and a win in civil court may help you in this case. However, that strategy might be best made in consultation with your attorney, especially since such a prosecution could be expensive.

The elements of a defamation case are generally:

1) The defendant made a defamatory/false statement about the plaintiff

2) The defendant 'published' or communicated it successfully (spoken for slander, written for libel) to a third person (slander)

3) the statement caused damages to you and which may need to be proven.

Originally posted by Fonta
My ex husband who lives in a different state is petitioning the court to gain custody of our two daughters, age 11 and 13 (he opposed them moving with me to begin with and the court ordered that we be allowed to relocate). He wants them to move back and live with him, but has nothing that he can say about my parenting that is bad or would merit loss of custody, so he has proceeded to attack my new husband.

My ex and his family have told the appointed Guardian ad Litem that my new husband takes "showers with his 8 year old daughter" (my step daughter), and insist that my new husband will "sexually abuse" my two daughers. The accusation is completely untrue. The GAL (who I think buys into the accusation) has proceeded to discuss this very personal accusation with other members of the family including my mother, my ex's parents, and attorneys involved.

My new husband has 50/50 custody of his three children, and these type of allegations could jeopardize his custody in addition to our losing custody of my girls. He is also a volunteer coach for the kids' hockey and soccer teams and he worries that these remarks will damage his ability to continue these activities.

Would the comments made by my ex husband be considered defamation of character or slander? We are not seeking money for this, we just want these slanderous, completely un-founded statements and the damage that they will cause if they continue to stop. Thanks for any insight you can provide.