Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Washington

Libel

I am a board member for a youth sports organization. I posted statements on our website addressing rumors that have been heard in the community. One rumor mentioned the possible return of a board member who was expelled from the baord.

I addressed this rumor as so ''Rumor #3, Joe Blow is returning to the board of XYZ. Not true. Two years ago there were dismissals from XYZ board due to conduct that was deemed detrimental to the operation of XYZ. Joe Blow was one of those dismissals. Currently, Joe Blow has been voted in to be an assistant coach. Provided there are no unsubstantiated rumors reagarding XYZ, and there is not talk detrimental to XYZ, Joe will be able to coach.''

Joe Blow asked me to remove the comments and I did.

All of these statements can be backed by meeting minutes and are true and not said with any malicious intent. Can Joe Blow sue for libel?


Asked on 6/11/06, 2:17 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Dan Harris Harris & Moure, pllc

Re: Libel

The question should not be whether he can sue for libel, becuase the answer to that is that there is no way usually to stop just about anyone from suing for just about anything. The question is can he win. Truth is generally a defence to libel so if everything you said was true you should have a pretty strong case. But, this person may be able to do something with the fact that you stated that even if you hear any "unsubstantiated" rumors or any "talk detrimental to XYZ" XYZ will not be able to coach. Why would you get rid of someone based on unsubstantiated (which means without any evidence) rumors? Why would you get rid of someone just because one person says something detrimental about him? In other words, is this really what you meant to say? Because if someone, for instance, says XYZ is not a terribly good coach, you have said you would get rid of him. Or if someone just makes up a rumor about XYZ without any substantiation whatsoever, you have said you would get rid of him.

I think this is a perfect example of a situation where you should have contacted a lawyer BEFORE you did this. Legal costs are nearly always way less before a lawsuit or a problem arises than after.

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Answered on 6/11/06, 9:15 am


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