As an executive or owner-operator of a business, you prefer to spend your time growing your business by looking for new products and markets to create. But to do this you must preserve your brand. What may seem like a vague and innocuous remark could easily turn into a wild claim that goes viral. When this happens, you must take decisive measures to stop it.
Acting against Defamation
In the age of social media, defamation must be taken seriously. Too many people prefer to use the power that the Internet gives them to damage the reputation and good name of a company just because they can. There are individuals who may take disappointment or frustration to a level that is beyond all reason. Instead of engaging in constructive dialogue with you they will go online and make some false and damaging claims about your company.
You cannot let such an act stand. Working with the kind of lawyers to be found at Gordon Law Offices. you can fight back against those who have defamed your brand.
Proving Your Case
We live in a free society. The right of a person to express their views as they see fit is enshrined in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. For that reason, it is now and always has been hard to prove defamation. The rejoinder to such a charge will always be the right to freedom of speech.
However, there is a difference between expressing an opinion or judgment about the products or services your company offers and concocting a claim or story about your company that is both untrue and potentially damaging to your business.
The federal and state laws on defamation are complex, but in order to win a defamation case you must prove that the statement made is false, that it has been the cause of a company or individual having a financial loss, and that the one making the statement is doing so to cause a financial loss for another or knows that a financial loss could be the result of their statement.
Only a lawyer who is experienced in handling defamation cases will be able to gather the evidence, employ the witnesses, and present the expert testimony that can prove your case. It can be difficult to string all of these things together in a way that will satisfy a jury—assuming that the case goes to trial. You must therefore ensure that the lawyer you’re working with has sufficient trial experience so that they are able to present the evidence in a way that is so convincing as to be irrefutable.
You may also be able to settle the case without going to court. In that instance, you will need a lawyer who knows how to get a settlement that satisfies you. The right combination of public apology and financial reward will be in order.
Defamation is not something you can take lightly. It must be dealt with swiftly and effectively.