What’s a first letter complaining about untrue statements made about your business and when do you need one?
This is the first in our suite of template letters covering the situation where one or more untrue statements have been made about you/your business.
If you’ve been accused of making untrue statements by someone else, you’ll need our separate suite of templates relating to untrue statements.
There are two types of legally actionable untrue statement:
Whether a statement comes in written or verbal format, (i.e. it is libellous or slanderous), it falls under the general law of defamation. A defamatory statement is one that causes, or is likely to cause, damage to the reputation of the person/business on that it targets.
The legal measure of whether something is defamatory or not is whether, in the eyes of a court, the statement would ‘lower’ the person/business targeted ‘in the estimation of right-thinking members of society generally’; essentially meaning that the average person on the street would draw negative impressions about that person/business, based on what they have read/heard.
The threshold for bringing a court action against someone for defamation is a high one. You essentially have to prove that the statement did or would cause 'serious harm to the reputation’ of the targeted person or business and in the case of a business, this translates to that business evidencing that it’s suffered serious financial loss.
There is also a type of claim known as ‘malicious falsehood’, which applies where a person maliciously publishes false statements about you or your business and which cause you loss – usually a loss of business. This claim has a lot in common with defamation, but there are subtle differences. In some ways, it can be a little easier to prove than defamation, but it’s more restrictive in the sums that can be claimed as compensation.
What else might you need?
For more background on the legal position relating to defamation, take a look at our guide to defamation.
If you’re in any doubt about how to handle untrue statements made about you or your business, our pay-as-you-go Speak To A Lawyer service is ideally positioned to help you. Farillio’s expert partners are very well qualified to support you in these circumstances.