False statement concerning STD's

[Racquetball]

Jurisdiction

Michigan

Ladies and gentlemen, I ask you all for your thought's here, and thank you in advance. I am a 50 something man. My son's mother falsely told a female friend of mine that I contracted herpes 2 years ago. The female friend passed it on to a few other mutual female friend's, without asking me if it was true. (it isn't) This is causing me a great deal of anguish and grief. I come from a small community and this kind of malicious talk can be very damaging to anyone.I am wondering if I have any chance of successfully suing my son's mother and the "friend" that falsely passed on this information. I encourage and welcome your informed opinion's here.

 

[army judge]

Accusing someone of having a sexually transmitted disease is actionable under slander.

However, there are many dots to connect.

It's rare a rat that will snitch itself out.

Therein lies your problem, proving what you believe happened.

Even if you can do that, unless your slanderers are wealthy, you never get paid.

Lastly, you'll lay out oodles of cash seeking to correct the record.

Many people just leave it be, over time chickens stop clucking and start eating.

 

[Racquetball]

Thank you Army. I can prove it (written word, witnesses..) but agree, collecting is the hard part. Thanks for your comment.

 

[ElleMD]

Folks write in all the time from these "small communities" about rumors circulating about them. Seems it would be just as effective to start a counter rumor or mention to a few friends that, "Y has been going around saying Y, can you believe such a thing? It isn't true at all". Or just approach these folks who "know" and tell them the rumor isn't true.

 

[zddoodah]

I am wondering if I have any chance of successfully suing my son's mother and the "friend" that falsely passed on this information.

Based solely on the info in your post, yes, you do.

 

[adjusterjack]

Thank you Army. I can prove it (written word, witnesses..) but agree, collecting is the hard part. Thanks for your comment.

Consult an attorney.

Oh, wait, now you'll tell me that all the small town attorneys know all the slanderers and won't take the case.

 

[leslie82]

Folks write in all the time from these "small communities" about rumors circulating about them. Seems it would be just as effective to start a counter rumor or mention to a few friends that, "Y has been going around saying Y, can you believe such a thing? It isn't true at all". Or just approach these folks who "know" and tell them the rumor isn't true.

You must not have ever lived in a small town. That's not how small towns work at all.

 

[ElleMD]

I have actually. Small towns tend to know who is credible and who is not.

 

[leslie82]

I have actually. Small towns tend to know who is credible and who is not.

I don't know what small town you lived in but the town I grew up in people believed everything they heard. My town was like living in a soap opera and all the small towns nearby are the same. I did tell people things they heard about my family weren't true and they didn't believe me.

It's kind of the same in the military. I did actually start a rumor about myself and had one of my soldiers spread it at the end of a deployment. By the time I was leaving that unit two months later I had someone come up to me and say "I heard that you and this person hooked up in Iraq." It took two months to circulate through my unit. That's pretty much how small towns work too in my experience but faster.