"Slander"

[Mpetti]

My Ex mother in law has confronted me with telling me she has recorded a previous conversation with one of her employees and they are going to press charges on me for Slander. I said nothing that was not true. But, can they record a conversation without me knowing. They are in GA I am in Massachsuetts my Ex husband owns a car dealership in GA and they have a past in laundering money from past owners of dealerships they worked at. One was in FLA and they are VP and high profile sales reps. I dont know what to do at this point I spoke with someone in their accounting dept and stated that the left Florida because they ruined their reputation and couldnt sell cars no one wanted to buy from them because they were known as theifs. Am I in trouble??? I feel like I might have done this out if anger but, they were charged with laundering.

 

[Malibu_Barbie]

It sounds to me like the ex-mother-in-law is just trying to scare you. If you mentioned something about her business which is already public record, that's not slander. Can you ... well, will you, please tell us exactly what you said and to whom. That would help us further assess the matter.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

My Ex mother in law has confronted me with telling me she has recorded a previous conversation with one of her employees and they are going to press charges on me for Slander. I said nothing that was not true. But, can they record a conversation without me knowing. They are in GA I am in Massachsuetts my Ex husband owns a car dealership in GA and they have a past in laundering money from past owners of dealerships they worked at. One was in FLA and they are VP and high profile sales reps. I dont know what to do at this point I spoke with someone in their accounting dept and stated that the left Florida because they ruined their reputation and couldnt sell cars no one wanted to buy from them because they were known as theifs. Am I in trouble??? I feel like I might have done this out if anger but, they were charged with laundering.

I agree with Malibu Barbie -- moreso, you cannot be sued for slander if your statements did not include anything FALSE. That is the definition of slander. It is the wrongful statement of something false, not something that hurts someone else's feelings. The facts are the facts. If you mention to someone that another person was charged with a crime, those are just the facts. Defamation does not apply. There are other intentional torts (causes of action) but I don't really think they would apply here. This seems mostly a scare tactice.

 

[Duranie]

Slander is intentionally spreading false information, with malicious intent.

She probably has no case for slander. Its a free world, you are free to speak your opinions on someone that is what the 5th amendment is for.

In order for her to prove slander, she must prove that what you said is false (it is very hard to prove an opinion false), malicious intent, and she needs to prove a financial loss most likely.

Stop listening to her.