Any experience of Defamation?

JBEAN

I apologise if this post is in the wrong place, but it seemed the nearest match....I wonder if anyone has any experience of bringing about a case of defamation and what sort of legal costs I might be looking at?  I have made some enquiries with solicitors, but struggling to work out if it is worth the financial outlay (I wouldn't be entitled to legal aid but some have suggested that I may be able to find a no win/no fee lawyer...haven't found one yet though).  Or should I start the ball rolling myself with a "cease and desist letter?" (although I would rather it came from a solicitor as it would have more impact...).   Any experiences gratefully received please

krusty101

In a work capacity, on the receiving end. Tens of £1000s in defence. Person bringing the case lost one element and was then liable for our costs at £28k so bear that in mind. 

JBEAN

I appreciate you sharing your experience - thank you 

Jude57

JBEAN said:

I apologise if this post is in the wrong place, but it seemed the nearest match....I wonder if anyone has any experience of bringing about a case of defamation and what sort of legal costs I might be looking at?  I have made some enquiries with solicitors, but struggling to work out if it is worth the financial outlay (I wouldn't be entitled to legal aid but some have suggested that I may be able to find a no win/no fee lawyer...haven't found one yet though).  Or should I start the ball rolling myself with a "cease and desist letter?" (although I would rather it came from a solicitor as it would have more impact...).   Any experiences gratefully received please

Any solicitor would certainly write a 'cease and desist' type of letter, and the cost for that would be minimal. If you want the person to stop publishing what you say are defamatory statements about you, that might be enough to get them to stop. If, however, you want to 'have your day in Court', you're certainly looking at tens of thousands of pounds, assuming you 'win'. If you lose, you could be looking at much more because you could be ordered to pay the other side's costs, too. If, having told a litigation specialist solicitor all the details of your case, they are advising you not to proceed, take heed of that advice.

Defamation is rarely brought before the Court precisely because it is so difficult to prove. You would have to prove that what was being claimed against you was untrue and that the person/people claiming it knew, or ought reasonably to have known, that it was untrue. If they are expressing an opinion about you, that's not defamation. Further, you would have to prove you have suffered a loss as a direct consequence of what has been claimed against you. So, proof of lost revenue to a business, loss of employment and so on. Not just that you think that was the reason, but actual proof. So, for example, if I post online that you murdered my granny when she was in your care home, unless I can prove it, that could be defamatory. If I post that you weren't very kind to my granny when she was in your care home, that's an opinion even though it could be damaging to your reputation and your business.

I think it's highly unlikely you'll find a No-Win No-Fee firm to take your case on, simply because they generally only take on cases with a better than even chance of success. Even without knowing all the details of your case I can tell you that your chances are only 50/50, if that. But above all, if you do find such a firm, be absolutely certain you know what you're signing up for because, one way or another, they WILL get their fees, even if you decide you don't want to proceed.

Finally, have a look at the transcript of the Vardy -v- Rooney case recently heard. And look at the costs involved there. Your case might not involve such high costs but it's all relative. Could you afford to lose? If not, you can't afford to proceed, in my opinion.

DullGreyGuy

JBEAN said:

I apologise if this post is in the wrong place, but it seemed the nearest match....I wonder if anyone has any experience of bringing about a case of defamation and what sort of legal costs I might be looking at?  I have made some enquiries with solicitors, but struggling to work out if it is worth the financial outlay (I wouldn't be entitled to legal aid but some have suggested that I may be able to find a no win/no fee lawyer...haven't found one yet though).  Or should I start the ball rolling myself with a "cease and desist letter?" (although I would rather it came from a solicitor as it would have more impact...).   Any experiences gratefully received please

Couple of grand to into the hundreds of thousands... depends on the complaint, claimed compensation, if the counterparty defends etc etc

Its cost prohibitive and rarely do the losses warrant the cost. In 2020 only 152 defamation cases were litigated out of 2.9m cases and not all of those made it to trial. There are lawyers that will operate on a no win, no fee basis so if you do think you have suffered "serious harm" then there is little harm having an initial free consultation but I suspect the takeup rate is very low.

JBEAN

Thank you so much for such a comprehensive and helpful reply @DullGreyGuy.  I really appreciate this and will heed your advice 

JBEAN

Jude57 said:

JBEAN said:

I apologise if this post is in the wrong place, but it seemed the nearest match....I wonder if anyone has any experience of bringing about a case of defamation and what sort of legal costs I might be looking at?  I have made some enquiries with solicitors, but struggling to work out if it is worth the financial outlay (I wouldn't be entitled to legal aid but some have suggested that I may be able to find a no win/no fee lawyer...haven't found one yet though).  Or should I start the ball rolling myself with a "cease and desist letter?" (although I would rather it came from a solicitor as it would have more impact...).   Any experiences gratefully received please

Any solicitor would certainly write a 'cease and desist' type of letter, and the cost for that would be minimal. If you want the person to stop publishing what you say are defamatory statements about you, that might be enough to get them to stop. If, however, you want to 'have your day in Court', you're certainly looking at tens of thousands of pounds, assuming you 'win'. If you lose, you could be looking at much more because you could be ordered to pay the other side's costs, too. If, having told a litigation specialist solicitor all the details of your case, they are advising you not to proceed, take heed of that advice.

Defamation is rarely brought before the Court precisely because it is so difficult to prove. You would have to prove that what was being claimed against you was untrue and that the person/people claiming it knew, or ought reasonably to have known, that it was untrue. If they are expressing an opinion about you, that's not defamation. Further, you would have to prove you have suffered a loss as a direct consequence of what has been claimed against you. So, proof of lost revenue to a business, loss of employment and so on. Not just that you think that was the reason, but actual proof. So, for example, if I post online that you murdered my granny when she was in your care home, unless I can prove it, that could be defamatory. If I post that you weren't very kind to my granny when she was in your care home, that's an opinion even though it could be damaging to your reputation and your business.

I think it's highly unlikely you'll find a No-Win No-Fee firm to take your case on, simply because they generally only take on cases with a better than even chance of success. Even without knowing all the details of your case I can tell you that your chances are only 50/50, if that. But above all, if you do find such a firm, be absolutely certain you know what you're signing up for because, one way or another, they WILL get their fees, even if you decide you don't want to proceed.

Finally, have a look at the transcript of the Vardy -v- Rooney case recently heard. And look at the costs involved there. Your case might not involve such high costs but it's all relative. Could you afford to lose? If not, you can't afford to proceed, in my opinion.

@jude57 this is really useful.   Thank you so much 

TBagpuss

Jude57 said:

JBEAN said:

I apologise if this post is in the wrong place, but it seemed the nearest match....I wonder if anyone has any experience of bringing about a case of defamation and what sort of legal costs I might be looking at?  I have made some enquiries with solicitors, but struggling to work out if it is worth the financial outlay (I wouldn't be entitled to legal aid but some have suggested that I may be able to find a no win/no fee lawyer...haven't found one yet though).  Or should I start the ball rolling myself with a "cease and desist letter?" (although I would rather it came from a solicitor as it would have more impact...).   Any experiences gratefully received please

Any solicitor would certainly write a 'cease and desist' type of letter, and the cost for that would be minimal. If you want the person to stop publishing what you say are defamatory statements about you, that might be enough to get them to stop. If, however, you want to 'have your day in Court', you're certainly looking at tens of thousands of pounds, assuming you 'win'. If you lose, you could be looking at much more because you could be ordered to pay the other side's costs, too. If, having told a litigation specialist solicitor all the details of your case, they are advising you not to proceed, take heed of that advice.

Defamation is rarely brought before the Court precisely because it is so difficult to prove. You would have to prove that what was being claimed against you was untrue and that the person/people claiming it knew, or ought reasonably to have known, that it was untrue. If they are expressing an opinion about you, that's not defamation. Further, you would have to prove you have suffered a loss as a direct consequence of what has been claimed against you. So, proof of lost revenue to a business, loss of employment and so on. Not just that you think that was the reason, but actual proof. So, for example, if I post online that you murdered my granny when she was in your care home, unless I can prove it, that could be defamatory. If I post that you weren't very kind to my granny when she was in your care home, that's an opinion even though it could be damaging to your reputation and your business.

I think it's highly unlikely you'll find a No-Win No-Fee firm to take your case on, simply because they generally only take on cases with a better than even chance of success. Even without knowing all the details of your case I can tell you that your chances are only 50/50, if that. But above all, if you do find such a firm, be absolutely certain you know what you're signing up for because, one way or another, they WILL get their fees, even if you decide you don't want to proceed.

Finally, have a look at the transcript of the Vardy -v- Rooney case recently heard. And look at the costs involved there. Your case might not involve such high costs but it's all relative. Could you afford to lose? If not, you can't afford to proceed, in my opinion.

I'm not sure 'any solicitor' would. Defamation is  a specialist area and most solicitors are reluctant to dabble in areas they aren't specialists in, because the risk of making mistakes and being sued for negligence is too high.

That said, depending on the circumstances you could consider what other options might be available to you.

Does the behaviour amount to harassment, for instance?  That's something that it is much easier to find advice about from local solicitors and indeed the police.
What is the context? Is it something where they could be said to be acting for a company in which case a formal complaint to their boss may be relevant? 
Is it in a family situation, in which case it might be relevant if you were involved in court proceedings with them .
Is in in the press, in which case a formal letter from a specialist solicitor may be worth paying for, to elicit a retraction or apology.

But generally speaking, it's a rich person's game. My understanding is that in most cases, if the person responsible is willing to retract or apologise then that would be the end of it and you wouldn't have grounds to pursue it further

tooldle

An interesting thread, thank you for raising it. I’m the subject of defamatory statements on social media at the moment. I had not considered the actions could also be seen as harassment.
OP, where are the defamatory statements being made? Assuming these are not verbal might it be possible for the platform to block or ban the individual concerned?

T.T.D

As above really it’s a specialty area. They call libel and defamation a rich man’s game for a reason. 

There are several things you can do like put reports to admins and site owners for bans. 

The police for malicious communications and harassment if you have evidence of two separate occasions of causing you distress and alarm, injunctions to stop contact and keep the offending party away from you. 

Defamation really should be your last resort before all else and other avenues explored and exhausted, it’s an expensive road to walk down, and when people have got there have discovered that the person they took to court is broke and can’t afford to pay you out anyway and your thousands out without a prospect of recovering the costs, can be devastating financial to you, so my advice is just that you exhaust all other avenues, when that’s exhausted ask yourself “is this a battle your willing to engage in, or is is cheaper to walk away”? After all a lie has many changing faces but the truth only has one! 

Novice_investor101

I defended a friend against a defamation claim that had absolutely zero merit to it - didn’t even meet the threshold of published, never mind serious harm etc. i did it as a McKenzie friend, but I have experience of the Pre-Action Protocols & Civil Procedure Rules. 

The person bringing the action actually had a solicitor, but was writing his own letters. The solicitor basically took him for a fool easily parted from his money. We rejected the claim, reported him to the police for harassment & invited him to file at court because the judge would throw it out immediately. His solicitor ditched him, didn’t hear from him again & the 1 year limitation passed uneventfully. 

It’s an expensive endeavour & not one to be entered into lightly.