united-states libel
Easy way to check if libel has been committed?
<p>We have an article about someone's activities that I believe was written carefully to avoid libel:</p>
<p><a href="http://pdacamp.com/Sam-Wolanyk-and-Tangod-Up-In-Blues/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://pdacamp.com/Sam-Wolanyk-and-Tangod-Up-In-Blues/</a></p>
<p>Now the party in question is threatening to sue (but of course refuses to point to which sections he believes are libelous)</p>
<p>Is there an easy resource to get legal advice on whether this falls under libel or not, or do we have to pay the $$ to &quot;lawyer up&quot; if we want to be safe?</p>

<blockquote>
<p>Now the party in question is threatening to sue (but of course refuses to point to which sections he believes are libelous) ... do we have to pay the $$ to &quot;lawyer up&quot; if we want to be safe?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>If you get sued, you will definitely want a lawyer.  If you don't get sued, well, in that case you're safe.  So your first question is whether the supposedly aggrieved party will actually sue.  Your second question is, <em>if</em> they sue, do they have a good case?  That question will be useful in deciding whether to settle.</p>
<p>If the threats are empty then you might want to hire a lawyer to call their bluff.
Otherwise you may have to endure the continual empty threats.  This is especially true if the libel case is weak.  Your lawyer can write a letter that explains why there is no case.</p>
<p>If they do sue, they will have to identify the specific libelous statements, so you will at that point be able to refute the claims.  But you'll also want a lawyer at that point, so you won't have to be directly concerned with the details; your lawyer will take care of them.</p>
<p>As suggested in a comment, do keep in mind that a true statement cannot be libelous, by definition.  To the extent that you can prove that every statement in the piece is true then you don't have much to worry about.  But even then you'll want a lawyer's advice, because even if you know yourself that everything is true, you don't know what it will take to prove that in court.  (Another aspect of the element of falsity is that statements of opinion are generally not defamatory.)</p>
<p>To learn for yourself about the elements of libel you can start with Wikipedia or a bit of internet searching.  To get a thorough analysis of the facts of your case in light of the laws of the relevant jurisdictions, you will need to engage a lawyer.  It might not cost as much as you fear.</p>
