Taking a client to court for slander

[Jcarver]

Hi,
Looking for some advice on libel. I run a small company and a client has posted defamatory comments on social media about our company and have threatened to contact other companies. They had ordered a product that was not to the specifications that their own client wanted but which was as per what was agreed with us.
We are looking for a non hassle way of taking this to court but which will not cost an extravagant amount to do so. We have asked our client to remove the comments but they have refused. Is there a version of the small claim process for this sort of thing?

Any advice is much appreciated.

[jaguarsuk]

It depends on what you are trying to achieve?

If you want compensation then it is a simple money claim, however if you want the court to order the removal of the social media comments and that they refrain from making further comments then it's not as simple.

[Jcarver]

Hi,
Looking for some advice on libel. I run a small company and a client has posted defamatory comments on social media about our company and have threatened to contact other companies. They had ordered a product that was not to the specifications that their own client wanted but which was as per what was agreed with us.
We are looking for a non hassle way of taking this to court but which will not cost an extravagant amount to do so. We have asked our client to remove the comments but they have refused. Is there a version of the small claim process for this sort of thing?

Any advice is much appreciated.

Thankyou. I think that a money claim may lead them to remove it anyway? But I thought money claim didnt deal with libel? And it may be tricky to prove an exact money loss....unless a potential client said they would not go ahead with an order based on seeing the comments.

[jaguarsuk]

You could bring a Claim for Defamation under the Defamation Act 2013 S1(1) as their actions are regarded as “likely to cause serious harm” to the reputation of your business. You don't need to prove an exact loss as you would be seeking General Damages, which are damages for the non-monetary aspects of the specific harm suffered - such as loss of reputation.

It is simply a case of evidencing that they have posted something factually incorrect on social media by taking a copy of the post, showing what they ordered and why they are really dissatisfied with what they ordered being different to the reason they are saying on social media.

[R0b]

Actions for defamation have to be started in the High Court, unless both sides consent to the County Court (if I recall). So bringing a claim under the small claims route is highly unlikely.

[jaguarsuk]

Actions for defamation have to be started in the High Court, unless both sides consent to the County Court (if I recall). So bringing a claim under the small claims route is highly unlikely.

This is correct, apologies to the OP that I forgot to add this and to further elaborate why this is relevant - the cost of bringing such a claim could be massive.

[Amethyst]

Hi,
Looking for some advice on libel. I run a small company and a client has posted defamatory comments on social media about our company and have threatened to contact other companies. They had ordered a product that was not to the specifications that their own client wanted but which was as per what was agreed with us.
We are looking for a non hassle way of taking this to court but which will not cost an extravagant amount to do so. We have asked our client to remove the comments but they have refused. Is there a version of the small claim process for this sort of thing?

Any advice is much appreciated.

Before any court action you'd need to write to them formally - have you done this as yet ? There's certain things you need to write to them and timescales to give before taking it to the high court.

Are they refusing to remove the comments because they believe they are accurate, or simply to be mean ?

What social media have they posted the comments on ? You could start with a section 5 complaint to the website owner, which could result in posts being removed dependent on the website's policy. Section 5 imposes some quite strict processes which involve the poster of the comments giving their details to the website owners... sometimes that's enough of a kick to get them to remove comments ( we deal with quite a lot of section 5 complaints on here - and a few defamatory comments about us across various sites )

[Jcarver]

We have emailed them a number of times asking for the comments to be removed and to cease from contacting other companies but they have refused. They believe the comments to be true but we also think there is some malisciousness involved. Its on facebook which is not open to removing posts.
So if we were to look at taking it to high court what sort of costs are involved to start proceedings? And is there a form to complete etc?
Thankyou

[jaguarsuk]

We have emailed them a number of times asking for the comments to be removed and to cease from contacting other companies but they have refused. They believe the comments to be true but we also think there is some malisciousness involved. Its on facebook which is not open to removing posts.
So if we were to look at taking it to high court what sort of costs are involved to start proceedings? And is there a form to complete etc?
Thankyou

Even if you have written to them a few times you'll need to write a Letter Before Action complaint with Practice Direction Pre-Action Protocol giving them 28 days to put right the cause of action.

After this you would need to file a claim form N1 to the high court and serve a copy with response pack on the defendant. The cost would be dependant on the value of the claim you are submitting to file, but where the costs increase is if the other side defend and are successful you would be liable for their legal costs.

If they believe the comments to be true, before starting on a path to potentially spending a fortune it might be worth you copying and pasting their comments here to allow further advice. (remove identifying details).

If you simply want the comments to be removed you could seek an order of the court by filing an application for £255 with the county court to order them removed.

[Amethyst]

3 Pre-action protocol

Letter of Claim

3.1


The Claimant should notify the Defendant of his/her claim in writing at the earliest reasonable opportunity.

3.2


The Letter of Claim should include the following information:-

• name of Claimant;
• sufficient details to identify the publication or broadcast which contained the words complained of;
• the words complained of and, if known, the date of publication; where possible, a copy or transcript of the words complained of should be enclosed;
• factual inaccuracies or unsupportable comment within the words complained of; the Claimant should give a sufficient explanation to enable the Defendant to appreciate why the words are inaccurate or unsupportable;
• the nature of the remedies sought by the Claimant.
• Where relevant, the Letter of Claim should also include:-
• any facts or matters which make the Claimant identifiable from the words complained of;
• details of any special facts relevant to the interpretation of the words complained of and/or any particular damage caused by the words complained of.

3.3


It is desirable for the Claimant to identify in the Letter of Claim the meaning(s) he/she attributes to the words complained of.


https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/pr...tocol/prot_def

https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/pr...l/rules/part53

https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/part53/pd_part53

[Jcarver]

Is it possible for a company to take this sort of matter to court without having to spend 10's of thousands and represent themselves?

[des8]

:The fee for starting a case is:

• 5% of the amount for claims worth between £10,000 and £200,000
• £10,000 for claims worth more than £200,000

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/queens-b...-the-court-fee

[jaguarsuk]

Is it possible for a company to take this sort of matter to court without having to spend 10's of thousands and represent themselves?

The costs risk is not in you spending money to file the claim or on your own legal fees, it's if you lose and have to pay their costs of and occasioned in defending it.

If they win you could be in the frame to pay a fortune for their legal costs.

Hence why I said to post up what they have written/said before doing anything as then we can have a look at what your chances are.

[davenewbergr]

This sounds like a situation in which you could be thinking of fighting fire with fire. You might consider consulting someone in the internet/Search Engine Optimisation sort of field about getting your side of the story onto the same social media platforms so that anyone who sees what has been written about you is likely to see what you have said in response. This will involve far less expense and far less risk. Legal proceedings are long, tedious, distracting, stressful and costly. If act for yourself there are horrible pitfalls and if you avoid them, it will still be long, tedious, distracting and stressful.