Monica owed Bob 500 which was more than a year overdue Bob got drunk at a party and told everyone there that Monica had owed him 500 for over a year Can Monica recover from bob for defamation?

Answer 1

If it is true that Monica did owe Bob 500, then the Monica can't recover anything. The fact the Monica is a PUBLIC FIGURE brings another element of her trying to sue for Defamation under Michigan Law, and that element is that Monica must prove Bob's comments were not only not true, but made with intentional MALICE. Monica, in this scenario, doesn't have a case. She also has no case because Bob did not make any comments about Monica's character, only alleged that she owed him $500....perhaps Monica would have a case if that not true and Bob further called her names defaming her character, for example, a "crook", "theif", and that name calling could be proved that Bob intended malice, since Monica is a public figure. Short answer.....NOPE! If it is true that Monica did owe Bob 500, then the Monica can't recover anything. The fact the Monica is a PUBLIC FIGURE brings another element of her trying to sue for Defamation under Michigan Law, and that element is that Monica must prove Bob's comments were not only not true, but made with intentional MALICE. Monica, in this scenario, doesn't have a case. She also has no case because Bob did not make any comments about Monica's character, only alleged that she owed him $500....perhaps Monica would have a case if that not true and Bob further called her names defaming her character, for example, a "crook", "theif", and that name calling could be proved that Bob intended malice, since Monica is a public figure. Short answer.....NOPE!