Defamation

If someone publishes information about you to a third party and that information has a negative or harmful effect (to include damaging your reputation), you could be the victim of defamation. To qualify as defamation, the negative information can be published either verbally or in written form. Publication may even occur over the Internet such as on social media sites or blogs.

For several decades, Lieberman Armstrong Lawyers has specialised in practicing the highly complex area of law that covers defamation. We’ve represented clients who have been the victim of defamation as well as those who have been accused of this act. In addition, we have two senior lawyers who have extensive knowledge and experience concerning defamation. They are especially familiar with the developing area of internet defamation, which is gaining more attention with each passing year.

Our expertise has allowed us to act in numerous high profile defamation cases, including Whitman v. Advertiser Newspapers, a case that reached the High Court. At the time of this ruling, our client was awarded the highest amount of damages ever recorded in South Australia up to that point.

Many of our clients have had their personal reputations damaged. Others have seen a decline in their business and professional reputation, and suffered monetary damages as a result.

Modern methods of communication such as the Internet have required us to act on behalf of those who have been defamed on social media sites such as Twitter or Facebook. Others have negative information come up in search engine results or posted by anonymous bloggers. We’ve been able to help clients such as these by:

  • Forcing individuals to delete defamatory posts on Facebook and publish an apology
  • Getting Google to remove certain search engine results
  • Having the court produce an order that will allow us to track down an anonymous blogger

Malicious Falsehoods

At Lieberman Armstrong, we are also experienced in the area of injurious falsehoods, which are also known as malicious falsehoods. This area of law is related to defamation, and has undergone several changes in recent years. Injurious falsehoods are now more significant than ever, particularly when they involve a business who has suffered because of false allegations.

Defamation law is highly complex, so you should never try to go it alone. Seek legal counsel as early as possible as there is a one-year limitation for you to bring proceedings in a court of law.