Houston Defamation Lawyers

Like doctors, attorneys often focus their practice on a particular field. If you have a complicated legal problem, just as if you had a complicated medical problem, you want to consult with an expert in that area.

It may be that your defamation case is straightforward. If that is the case, a lawyer who infrequently handles defamation cases may provide adequate legal representation. However, in nuanced and quickly changing areas of the law, like internet defamation, it is often preferable to choose a firm or lawyer who handles these types of cases on a daily basis.

Failure to hire an expert in defamation could lead to receiving substandard legal advice. It could also lead to overpayment. This is because you could be paying the lawyer to “learn the ropes.”

An experienced defamation attorney already knows the particularities of the jurisdiction’s rules, can quickly spot what your claims are, and can intuit what the defenses might be. Furthermore, they often already have established relationships that could lead to a quick take-down of materials or resolution outside of litigation.

The cost to bring a defamation lawsuit depends on numerous variables, including:

• A particular court’s filing fees,
• The lawyer’s billable rate and fee structure,
• Where the defamation took place and how extensive it is,
• The defamation law that applies to your case,
• The availability of evidence to prove your case,
• How easy it is to identify and find the defendant(s),
• Whether the defendant will contest your allegations,
• The amount of discovery needed,
• How long the litigation lasts,
• Whether time is of the essence,
• The need to hire local counsel and their billable rates,
• The number of court appearances required,
• The amount of monetary damages requested, and
• The kind of legal or non-legal relief requested.

As you can see, there is no simple answer to determining what your total defamation lawsuit cost will run you. But to help give you an idea of what to expect, here are a few rough numbers:

• On the low end, your defamation lawsuit may cost $5,000 to $7,500.
• On the upper end, trials in defamation cases may cost you between $30,000 and $60,000, with an average monthly cost of $4,000 to $6,000.
• The average defamation lawsuit often costs about $14,000 to $16,000 for most cases at Minc Law.

No, not all cases go to trial. Often, we can successfully remove defamatory content and resolve the matter without a trial. However, if litigation is necessary, we are fully prepared to represent you in court.

A question we are asked often by prospective clients at Minc Law is ‘How Long Does it Take to Sue For Defamation?’ Filing a defamation lawsuit is rarely a “quick fix” for your issue. The length of time it takes to resolve a defamation lawsuit can vary is and impacted by a variety of major factors, including:

• Whether you are seeking monetary relief,
• If the case is contested by the opposing party,
• If a defamer’s identity is unknown or known, and
• If the case proceeds all the way to trial.

At Minc Law, we find that roughly 90% of our defamation lawsuits take anywhere from 6 to 12 months from filing to full resolution.

Before hiring a defamation attorney to file a defamation lawsuit, we recommend that you ask yourself if you are willing to be patient.

Lawsuits involve several steps, each of which takes considerable time. If you proceed with a lawsuit, expect to work through the following procedures:

Initial Pleadings

Pleadings are formal documents filed with the court and can consist of complaints, answers, responses, motions, amendments, and counterclaims. Most state and federal courts allow anywhere from 30-60 days for the defendant to respond to an initial complaint once it has been served upon them. However, this timeline can extend greatly if motions to dismiss are filed before the Defendant responds.

Discovery

This is where all parties involved in a case get and disclose their evidence to decide if they should march towards trial or negotiate an early settlement.

State courts generally require discovery to be completed within 60-120 days after a pretrial conference (if applicable in your state) but motions for extension of time or stays can push this deadline back even further.

Dispositive Motions

Sometimes during litigation, special motions are filed that cannot be bypassed without a 30-60-minute hearing. Litigants can be given months to file these motions.

Many judges only have a limited number of slots available for these types of hearings, so they need to be scheduled in advance, sometimes as far as six months out, depending on the judge’s calendar.

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

Most states require ADR with a neutral third party before a trial is to take place.

This is the court’s last-ditch effort to make sure a matter cannot be settled before going in front of the judge. The most common forms of ADR are mediation and arbitration.

Trial

This is the final step of the litigation process and the most anticipated. There are six phases to a trial: choosing a jury, opening statements, witness testimony and examinations, closing arguments, jury instruction, and deliberation ending in a verdict.

The amount of time needed for a trial varies upon several different factors but usually takes between one and three weeks.

You probably would not want to sue someone if you did not stand to gain anything in the long run. After all, lawsuits can be costly and stressful.

Before you hire a defamation lawyer, you should consider what you stand to gain – and if it is the most appropriate action to resolve your defamation issue.

How Will Winning a Defamation Lawsuit Improve My Reputation?

Even if you do not own your own business, your online reputation matters. Did you know that most businesses check your social media before making a hiring decision? Chances are you already knew that. But you may not realize that even potential romantic partners will often Google you before a date.

That is right: your online reputation stands to affect the most important aspects of your life.

If search results for your name yield negative or defamatory content, it could impact both your love life and your earning capacity. It stands to reason, then, that winning a defamation lawsuit and removing negative online content could boost your reputation. When potential employers (or dates) search for you online, they will only find the non-defamatory information that you want them to find.

How Will Winning an Defamation Lawsuit Benefit My Business?

If you have a business, your online reputation arguably matters even more than an individual’s. Gone are the days when people patronized businesses simply because they are local or featured in the Yellow Pages.

Today, customers search out businesses online and they care about what they find. The importance of online reviews is ever increasing, and negative content can cause immeasurable damage. Defamatory content, in particular, has long been known to harm business owners (even before the internet). So, it behooves business owners to fight any negative content found online.

If false reviews and comments are hurting your business, a defamation lawsuit might be a lifeline to restore the name you have worked hard to establish. Not only can a lawsuit lead to the removal of negative content, but you can also be compensated for damages to your business’s reputation.

What Kind of Damages Are Awarded in a Defamation Lawsuit?

There are several different types of damages you can collect if you win a defamation lawsuit. In most defamation cases, a victim can recover the following defamation damages:

• Actual or compensatory damages – which reimburse you for actual losses, emotional distress, and reputational harm
• Nominal damages – which reimburse you a minimal amount that acknowledges you have suffered a legal wrong even if you do not prove actual damages
• Punitive damages – which are awarded to punish and deter wrongful conduct.

However, we have learned that potential clients are rarely concerned with the legal terms for damages. Instead, clients want to know exactly how they are going to collect on a judgment.

If the defamer has a regular income, you might be able to garnish wages directly out of their paycheck. Granted, both states and the federal government dictate if, how, and when you can garnish wages. Usually, you can only garnish up to 25% of the defamer’s disposable income. Occasionally defendants have insurance coverage for defamation lawsuits that can also provide relief.

Unfortunately, you cannot garnish social security, disability, retirement, child support, and alimony payments.

If the defamer has a bank account, you may be able to collect a from their checking, savings, money market, or mutual funds. To levy someone’s account(s), you will need some information first (like the name of the bank, routing number, and the account number). An attorney can usually determine this information through the court, if necessary.

Funds such as public benefits, retirement plans, and insurance proceeds are still exempt if they are kept in a personal account.

If the defamer owns real estate, you may also be able to record a lien against their property to collect your judgment. Likewise, you may be able to collect other assets like an inheritance, personal property, and an ownership interest in a business.

To get started, the process is straightforward:

1. You can reach out to us by calling us at (216) 373-7706, speaking with a chat agent, or filling out our online contact form.

2. Next, a Minc Law representative will reach out to you to better understand your legal issue, and determine if we are the right fit for your unique matter. From there, they will discuss scheduling your consultation with an attorney.

3. During your consultation, an attorney will evaluate your case’s potential, determine the best strategy, and discuss the expected costs and timeline to resolve your matter. If you decide to move forward with Minc Law, we will draft an engagement letter for your review/signature and then begin working on your case.

All in all, this process takes between 1-3 business days. Please feel free to reach out to us by any of the methods mentioned, and we’ll be ready to assist.