getting a public apology

ooter

can anyone on here tell me how does somebody go about getting a written public apology?
a family member had an allegation made against them a while back and it has now been proven to be false after investigations took place and they want to now get a public apology from the person(s) who made the allegation.
is it a long drawn out process and would it be expensive?

MagicSean

I think it would depend on the nature of the allegation and how it was made public.

ooter

obviously i'm not going to reveal the nature of the allegation but it was made public by word of mouth,the person(s) who made the allegation told everyone that would listen about it even though investigations were ongoing and nothing had been proven.
this has caused this family member great distress and now wants a written apology from the person(s) who made the allegation..

MagicSean

ooter wrote: »

obviously i'm not going to reveal the nature of the allegation but it was made public by word of mouth,the person(s) who made the allegation told everyone that would listen about it even though investigations were ongoing and nothing had been proven.
this has caused this family member great distress and now wants a written apology from the person(s) who made the allegation..

I presume it was a criminal allegation so. Your friend will most likely have to consult a solicitor and sue for defamation.

ooter

k_mac wrote: »

I presume it was a criminal allegation so. Your friend will most likely have to consult a solicitor and sue for defamation.

there were no charges ever actually brought but the police did make some investigations so i presume it was a criminal alegation yes.there were other agencies involved who looked in to the allegations in more depth.
how hard would it be to prove defamation?
it is after all just word of mouth/gossiping..

bitter_lemon

everybody sues for defamation of character these days.....go for it!
these days if you fall down a hole you can sue the county council!
and we wonder why this country is in a mess :mad:

blueythebear

ooter wrote: »

there were no charges ever actually brought but the police did make some investigations so i presume it was a criminal alegation yes.there were other agencies involved who looked in to the allegations in more depth.
how hard would it be to prove defamation?
it is after all just word of mouth/gossiping..

It's unclear if you can identify any particular individual (s) who made the allegation, to whom and what was said. If you have this information, then you should see a solicitor with a view to instigating defamation proceedings. This is most likely the only way to receive a public apology and even then you may not receive one. Be aware of the new time limit of one year (extending to two where the court allows) under the Defamation Act 2009.

MarkR

If it was just word of mouth, then would it qualify as defamiation?

An actionable defamatory statement has three ingredients:

it must be published,
it must refer to the complainant and
it must be false.

From http://irishbarrister.com/defamation.html

ldxo15wus6fpgm

MarkR wrote: »

If it was just word of mouth, then would it qualify as defamiation?

From http://irishbarrister.com/defamation.html

Yup. 'Publish' can mean to communicate orally for the purposes of the Act, afaik

Monty Burnz

Isn't it slander if it's spoken?

ldxo15wus6fpgm

Section 6 Defamation Act 2009
The tort of libel and the tort of slander—

(a) shall cease to be so described, and

(b) shall, instead, be collectively described, and are referred to in this Act, as the “ tort of defamation".

Monty Burnz

Evelyn Quaint Teepee wrote: »

Section 6 Defamation Act 2009
The tort of libel and the tort of slander—

(a) shall cease to be so described, and

(b) shall, instead, be collectively described, and are referred to in this Act, as the “ tort of defamation".

There you go, the entire fund of legal knowledge I held, wiped away in a single provision 2 years ago...

littlejp

bitter_lemon wrote: »

everybody sues for defamation of character these days.....go for it!
these days if you fall down a hole you can sue the county council!
and we wonder why this country is in a mess :mad:

Yep. Nothing to do with the Banks/Property Sector.

ooter

Thanks a lot for the replies lads..