[makalah]

without giving too many details my daughter has discovered her ex partner has made extraordinary allegations on his facebook wall (which has a very low privacy setting) which are not only untrue but potentially very damaging as they are in the middle of a custody battle.

This person is not on mine or my daughter's friends' list so we cannot report him. Even if we could I don't think that goes far enough to undo the damage he could be doing

Does anyone know what I can do about this. It really is serious and needs to be stopped.

[gorillathebino]

Originally Posted by makalah

without giving too many details my daughter has discovered her ex partner has made extraordinary allegations on his facebook wall (which has a very low privacy setting) which are not only untrue but potentially very damaging as they are in the middle of a custody battle.

This person is not on mine or my daughter's friends' list so we cannot report him. Even if we could I don't think that goes far enough to undo the damage he could be doing

Does anyone know what I can do about this. It really is serious and needs to be stopped.

You can report the comments to Facebook.

Also I doubt courts would really use the information on Facebook to make a decision

[ForestChav]

It's libel if it causes her significant loss (which she would obviously have to prove).

[makalah]

ok, maybe I have the wrong word. Slander? Defamation of character?

These are the worst kind of allegations you could imagain and we want them stopped at best and an injuction or prosecution to prevent him damaging her reputation and this iminent court case

[gorillathebino]

Originally Posted by makalah

ok, maybe I have the wrong word. Slander? Defamation of character?

These are the worst kind of allegations you could imagain and we want them stopped at best and an injuction or prosecution to prevent him damaging her reputation and this iminent court case

You can try it but I doubt you would get anywhere. Best thing to do is consult your lawyer and see what they say.

Report it to Facebook just now. They can take action against the individual.

[davidmcn]

Originally Posted by makalah

without giving too many details my daughter has discovered her ex partner has made extraordinary allegations on his facebook wall (which has a very low privacy setting) which are not only untrue but potentially very damaging as they are in the middle of a custody battle.

This person is not on mine or my daughter's friends' list so we cannot report him. Even if we could I don't think that goes far enough to undo the damage he could be doing

From a practical point of view, report it to Facebook and they'll no doubt remove the entries or ban the ex-partner completely. Websites tend to comply with complaints like this - they don't want the hassle.

[makalah]

Thanks for the replies, we are going to send the information to the solicitors first thing in the morning and take their advice and then report him.

I just can't believe these random people he is talking to who are referring to my daughter as a mental case, a mad cow and worse purely on the back of what he's saying. Mud sticks' doesn't it

[NUCLEAR PULSE]

Of course you can sue him.

If you're a millionaire.

[sarahcs]

You can, but if you want some money you'd be better off suing Facebook. If you just want him to shut up, report his comments to Facebook. They will deal - they don't want to be sued!

[CabbagesAhoy!]

Libel & defamation are for people with a LOT of money.

Report to Facebook (he doesn't have to be a friend) and take a screen grab before it disappears. People with children acting like this is beyond appallling. Any custody panel/judge would be very interested in this behaviour.

[katz543]

I would print off a screen shot of the page before reporting to facebook - you need to keep the evidence!!!

[racy]

Could even help your daughter with her case as it shows her ex as immature and a poor role model for the kids. Print everything off and ask your solicitor to use the stuff against him..Thats what I would do anyway.

[Lemonhunny]

I have the screengrabs on this pc of someone's Facebook who was doing the exact same thing during a custody battle.

The mother's solicitor was delighted to hear of them, and once they were on a memory stick, they were printed out and taken in to court.

The father was lambasted by the judge, and the mother awarded full custody, with the father only being allowed 1 supervised visit per week of 2 hours.

Screengrabs are IMPERATIVE!

[MaxBeta]

I agree with advice already given. Forget a defamation claim unless you have Elton John's bank balance or can persuade Carter-Rucks to do it no win/ no fee.

Instead, where there is a children case as this one is, remind your solicitor that section 97 of the Children Act 1989makes it an offence to publish anything which could identify a child as a subject of proceedings under the Act, so any abuse naming the child or (possibly) the mother may be an offence. Also, the solicitor should consider section 42 Family Law Act 1996 which gives the court the power to grant an injunction if it thinks it will benefit a party or a child in family proceedings even though there hasn't been a specific injunction application.

That should enable the court to tell this character where to get off.

[the chimp]

Dependant upon what has been said a precident has already been set........ so yes you can sue.


http://www.out-law.com/page-2621

[sazzleperkins]

In a similar situation, I was bombarded with abusive text messages by my ex - I had to type all of the messages out (45 pages worth!) for use in court.

As it was I didn't need to use them but any evidence against your daughter's ex that you can gather will be valuable.

[DIYGirlz]

I successfully sued a tradesman in court and updated my facebook status with the (true) outcome of the court. Members of his family have bombarded the site with libellous comments, calling me a liar and spreading untrue rumours. Whilst not surprised by these, I wondered if the threat of libel action would shut them up?

The tradesman has called my reputation and integrity into question and is a nasty piece of work. He is trying to shut me up so that he can continue to operate in a very unprofessional and unethical way. i firmly believe that others have the right to know what a nasty operator he is.

Any help or advice greatly appreciated.