Threatened with slander suit

[Reflectingtruth]

Jurisdiction

California

After severing a relationship a relative is threatening a slander suit over accusations of being involved in a theft from a deceased family members' property, claiming their reputation was ruined by the allegations. The relative has a prior history of theft (fired from several jobs but never charged and lied about it), drug arrests (and convictions), has a history of slander in court and recently lost custody of their children due to drug use.

The accusations were not made under malice or intentional lies, the shared opinions based upon the findings of the sheriffs investigations (they were unable to recover any stolen items but the family member was the last known person to be on the property when the local sheriffs were alerted to suspicious activity five hours prior to a family member searching the property) and the attorney handling the estate of the deceased after a phone call he received from the relative.

Is this threat something my family and I should take seriously and put a lawyer on retainer or should we wait it out? We are trying to close out the estate and fear this may further delay the proceedings.

Thanks for your time!

 

[adjusterjack]

So, the sheriff couldn't arrest and convict him, but you made public accusations that he was a criminal. Sure sounds like defamation to me.

However, based on your description of the guy, he's likely spouting hot air and you would be well advised to avoid and ignore him.

No sense in hiring a lawyer at this point, but that's up to you.

You might not even need a lawyer if your homeowners policy has Personal Injury Liability Coverage (libel, slander, defamation). It's often an optional coverage that you pay extra for or is included in policies for preferred insureds.

 

[txls]

People love to threaten to sue but rarely follow through. There is no guarantee of course, but my guess would be that this person would be hard-pressed to afford a lawyer. He might also have an uphill battle proving that his reputation was ruined. It sounds like that had already been done all by himself.

 

[ElleMD]

Has this person actually filed a lawsuit? If yes, get counsel. If no, keep your opinions of this person to yourself and let it go. If a lawsuit is eventually filed, seek counsel.

 

[Reflectingtruth]

Thanks everyone for the responses!