AboutPaul D. Friedman, M.A., Ph.D., J.D. Expertise I have been a practicing civil trial attorney since 1989 and have a master's degree in bioethics and a doctorate of philosophy in comparative ethics of law, medicine and business.
I am Certified as a Civil Trial Specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy and am Certified as a Specialist in Injury and Wrongful Death Litigation by the State Bar of Arizona Board of Legal Specialization.
Experience Experience in the area I have been a practicing trial attorney since 1989 and I have a masters degree in bioethics and a doctorate of philosophy regarding comparative ethics.
Organizations belong to State Bar of Arizona
State Bar of Colorado (inactive)
District of Columbia Bar (inactive)
Federal Bar
Licensed in Arizona District Court
Licensed in Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
Licensed in the United States Supreme Court American Bar Association National Board of Trial Advocacy
American Association for Justice
Arizona Trial Lawyers Association
American Society for Bioethics and Humanities Kennedy Institute of Ethics National Association of Realtors
Education/Credentials Bachelor of Arts 1985
Juris Doctorate 1989
Master of Arts in Bioethics 2004 Doctorate of Philosphy 2006
Awards and Honors Phi Beta Kappa
Multiple Who's Who
Publications A list of my copyrighted publications and presentations is contained at WWW.EXPERTETHICS.COM
Question Recently I had a contractor working for me. This person was removed because they could not arrive at work on time (Always 1hr late). Once this person was removed from my site, they started claiming that I spoke derogatory to them and about them to others. They also claim that I fired them because they were homosexual. I have two other employees’ that were always around when I spoke to this person and they cleared my name with my work place (everything is on video, no sound). The problem is because I was investigated I have a blemish on my record, and my raise for the year will only be 2% when it would have been 3.8%. Can and should I take this person to court for Deformation of Character? Or is there something else I should consider?
Answer Gary,
I cannot tell you whether you should file a lawsuit for defamation of character or something else because that would be providing legal advice. I do not provide legal advice over the internet and I have no idea where this took place.
To succeed in a claim for defamation, you need to prove: 1) he made a false statement; 2) knowing the statement was false; 3) the statement was stated to a third party; 4) it negatively impacted your reputation; and 5) it resulted in damages.
You may consider a claim for tortious interference of a contractual relationship if your raise was less because of his allegation.
