My sister has told my Mother lies about me

[queenofcups444]

Recently, I had a suit against my sister and brother-in-law. My mother died and left 2 houses to my sister. It was understood by everyone involved that my sister would have a house to live in while my mother was living. The agreement was that my sister would have her lifestyle improved (her and her husband had no money for a down payment). In exchange, they aggreed to take care of our sick mother (diabetis, high blood pressure, etc.) her last years. Also, to never put her in a rest home. The agreement was that when Mom died, the equity was to be divided 50% for them and 50% for me. My sister had the title in such a way that I couldn't touch it. She made a promice to my mother and myself that she never intend to keep.
The case I had against them was settled out of court for about 33% of what I should have gotten.
During the arbritration, I found out that the way my sister poisoned my mother against me was by telling her that my ex-husband and I said that we would never take care of her if anything ever happened to my sister. It was a suprise to hear that my sister was feeding her with this lie and many more lies. My sister said all of the lies during the deposition.
Since my divorce, I haven't been financially stable. In the mean time, my sister is still living in the house my mother bought and receiving rental income from the house my mother lived in. It just doesn't seem right.
I live in California. Can I go back to court and sue my sister and brother-in-law for defamation of character?

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Defamation is making an untrue statement to a third party. However, it would seem that you have two difficulties here:

1) Damages: How much have you "suffered" as a result of these lies? It would seem you want a greater percentage of your mother's estate, which may also be closed by settlement. Even so...
2) Proof: It is difficult to prove the damages because your mother is not available to testify.

This is a difficult case. I don't want to persuade you not to pursue a suit but, like most things, the return on investment is usually the key towards determining whether or not to move forward.

 

[queenofcups444]

In the lawsuit that I settled out of court, was for breach of contract. In the deposition for that case, they said that my ex and I wouldn't take care of my mom if anything happened to my sister. This was a lie. My sister said that I was being taken care of by a wealthy husband. This was a lie. I seperated from my ex 1 year before mom died. They admitted that they told mom that if I inheired half the equity, they wouldn't be able to have a home. That was a lie. They would only have lost the rental income from my mothers home. All of this was said in their deposition. I didn't know anything about the lies that were being said about me when Mom was alive. I just found out about it at the deposition.
The other thing is, what about undue influence?
My sister said in the deposition that mom had a landscaper con-artist that got several thousands out of her and did no work. Also, she had a boyfriend that used her for her driving services. He was legally blind and never even paid for her gas. Lastly, she got herself into trouble financially because she charged her visa $5,000 by shopping on the home shopping network buying trinkets for the grandkids. When this happened, the property was remortgaged to pay off her visa bill and God know's what else. I'm sure my sister put some money in her pocket too.
When Mom moved to the property, she had aproximatly $40,000 in savings. All that was gone within a year. I still don't know where that money went.
What I am saying is that my mother was not a financially responsible person. And my sister admitted this in her deposition.
I also just learned about the con artist and the home shopping network spending at the deposition. When my mother was alive, nobody told me that these things were going on. I guess my sister didn't want me to know that my mother was being irresponsibe.
It's my opinion, my sister was just another con artist who took advantage mom.
Do you think I have a case for both defamation and undue influence?

 

[Michael Wechsler]

You have no case against your sister unless she bilked your mother out of inheritance that should have been going to you. Otherwise you have no standing to sue. A good way to decide whether the damages are substantial enough to sue is whether you'd be willing to foot a good deal of the bill to hire a lawyer to sue the individual that defamed you. If the answer is a definite "no" and you wouldn't invest a few thousand dollars, you need to think about just how much "damage" was truly suffered. It's your decision.