A An Email Slating Someone Could I Be Sued If I Use"in My Opinion"

gordiescotland1 | 07:25 Tue 27th May 2014 | Law

26 Answers

A few weeks ago I had a rather unfortunate meeting with someone in a group situation and I have serious questions regarding her suitability for the position she is in and her moral and ethical standing in her life. I wanted to send an email to every church in her area warning people against getting involved with her and listing her character traits in detail ie manipuation aggressive mental health issues? If I do this but put several times in the email beside the things I am questioning IN MY OPINION can I be sued? Ive no money anyway £4000 in debt!! However I feel really strongly about this and I need to take this action to get it out of my system. Is everyone entitled to their opinion and is it illegal to express it in somecases I always thought that libel or slander was such if you said somebody was something but not if you think someone is?

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cassa333

Are you sure you are not confusing 'In my opinion' with 'allegadly'

By using 'in my opinion' you are surely putting yourself in a better position to be sued as they can see from the outset what you have said. If you are sure of your facts you need merely to state as fact. Supposition is not a fact and could leave you open to being sued more easily!!?

2sp_

Don't do it gordie. It will only reflect badly on you. You will come across as being spiteful, bitter and nasty. If this person is as bad as you believe, it will all come out soon enough.

You are entitled to personal opinion, you don't have to like everyone you meet in life. But at the same time, everyone is entitled to go about their daily business without harassment from those that don't like them.

I hope you can find comfort from your God to help you get past this.

pixie373

If you have to do it, stick to facts and accurately record the meeting and let people make up their own minds. As said, that's true- so isn't libel. I would be very wary of claiming mental health issues, if a) you don't know, b) you don't know what they are or c) you're not qualified to diagnose them.

themas

There are not enough facts give a proper opinion. For example, we've no idea what this person is saying &/or doing, & no idea what gordie's position is. Nor do we know the relation of gordie or this person to the churches concerned.

You ask whether you could be sued. Without knowing the full facts, my view is that you almost certainly can be - she can allege defamation or whatever even if you do qualify your statements. The real question is whether you can be sued successfully, & that is much more difficult to answer.

EDDIE51

Apart from the legal issue do you think it is right or 'Christian' to warn churches not to have anything to do with another person because they have 'mental health issues'?
Mental illness is just as much a disability as needing to use a wheelchair is.
So you think it is correct to warn 'all churches in her area' not to have dealings with this woman because she is disabled?
You do not sound very 'Christian' to me what happened to forgiveness?
By the way 'in my opinion' yes ,you could be sued. If you are worth sueing or not is another question.
A quiet word with your priest would be a lot better.