Private libel charge.

Is it possible to bring a private/civil charge of libel against someone on behalf of a third party? You can probably guess what I am thinking, I am just so sick of seeing blogs that spew rubbish and corruption on the internet, and feel frustrated at not doing as much as I can to stuff 'em. I know the McCann's lawyers have their details, but they are probably more interested in the bigger fish at the moment, like newspapers and book authors, and so on. I just wondered if we could club together somehow, and bring a private libel case against some of these scumbags, with all moneys won naturally going to the find Madeleine fund. Ideas anyone? Or would this be treading on the official lawyers toes?

vee8 wrote:Is it possible to bring a private/civil charge of libel against someone on behalf of a third party? You can probably guess what I am thinking, I am just so sick of seeing blogs that spew sh*t and corruption on the internet, and feel frustrated at not doing as much as I can to stuff 'em. I know the McCann's lawyers have their details, but they are probably more interested in the bigger fish at the moment, like newspapers and book authors, and so on. I just wondered if we could club together somehow, and bring a private libel case against some of these scumbags, with all moneys won naturally going to the find Madeleine fund. Ideas anyone? Or would this be treading on the official lawyers toes?

My understanding of libel law, is that the party instigating same, needs to prove that they have personally been libelled - the payout if proven, will depend on the severity of suffering in all areas, including financial, reputation, feelings etc etc. So no, I do not believe it is possible.

Just wanted to say Vee8, following on from my last post, that you have given me an idea, but I need to think it through. When I have, I will PM you about it.

Don't let the B's get you down Vee8 - I know they do to most of us at some point in time, but remember, that the contributions we make here and in many cases elsewhere, are very worthwhile and balances the scales , in the favour of good/humanity and justice. You recently had a success that you did not wish to elaborate on and I respect that and have posted a reply - it is examples of this sort of progress that, along with all our efforts, that make a difference.

Your understanding of libel law is only partly right. For a standard libel suit, it is necessary to prove damages. But for libel per se, once this is proven, damages are assumed. That is because it is implied by law that this libel is so serious that damages will certainly result. This is IMO what the McCanns will sue for.

Things that come under libel per se, murder, kidnapping, major fraud. So as you can see, many of the anti's are in fact guilty of libel per se, and the McCanns will not have to prove damages. And with libel per se, the only defence is the truth. It is no defence to write as though it is your own opinion, this is not an acceptable defence. This is why the Express gave in so readily to the McCanns libel suit They were caught and had no way out.

There are many good websites that explain libel and libel per se. Even Wikipedia, and I have confirmed what the wiki said against other legal web sites. And Libel per se, is part of British common law.

Actually, I could do with some advice on a personal level. I am considering bringing a libel case against a particularly evil anti who libeled me on the 3arsewipes site, but I don't have a clue where to start. I haven't got any spare cash, do libel cases work on a 'no win' no fee' basis? Can anyone recomend a good website for me to look at?

For you to sue for libel you must be a publicly recognisable, identifiable person and you must have suffered some damage to your reputation. You must have been defamed.

Unfortunately if you were defamed as a blogger, then there is nothing you can do about it. Because under the law, you are not able to be defamed because you are anonymous. And also, how does what is said on the internet effect your real life, because that is the only place that damages can apply. So your reputation must be damaged, that causes some real damage in real life.

I dont know your circumstances, just showing what you would have to prove, to get a case won in court, or even just read allowed in the court.

And I believe you must pay the legal fees upfront, unless you have a slam dunk case, such as if you were called a murderer, publicly and constantly. Gee, I wonder who that could apply to. But regardless, you will have to pay fees if you lose. And internet libel is very difficult and probably wouldnt be able to be done by a novice (such as someone studying, or straight out of uni, or just starting out etc).

Have spoken to the police about this. The libel has been continuous. Includes full recognisable contact details, what job vee does and who he works for. Also accusing his daughter of causing the death of an innocent man and putting up my full name which googling would expose me.

Have spoken to the police and they wont get involved unless physical damaging contact has been done or a private prosecution commenced when they would be obliged to get involved.

Where we thought the culprit had agreed amicably it has started again in force and in particular, as usual, against vee8 like an obsession.

Dianeh, the blogger in question knows exactly who I am, where I live, what I do for a living, my childs name, age etc, because he posted all these details on the 3a's in a previous thread. Therefore all the regular posters on 3a's also know who I am, and since I have a blog of my own, with my picture on it, they also know what I look like. He has continued to attack me personally, and as Mod said, accused my daughter, (A victim of sexual abuse from a local man) of hounding an innocent man to his death(The CPS did not charge him through lack of evidence, and he later hung himself, for diferent reasons.) he has taunted me with this on many occasions. He has now called me an obsessive, delusional control freak, trying to monopolise the VM board, and I want to take him down. Since he knows me, does that make a difference?

Do you still go on the 3 A's..are you a member? My advice to you is to unsubscribe and no longer even visit it. I offer you the same advice regarding the Sky forum. Neither of these two sites in my opinion are even worthy of a mention...let alone a visit. I have never belonged to either...but did used to read them. I no longer even do that because the posters are a plain evil hate brigade. What you have to remember is they come on here as anonymous and read all you post, and that fires them up even more.
So my advice to you..and anyone else suffering the same problem is...forget them, don't go there and don't mention them.
I hope this helps.

Mum21

That is good advice from Mum, in more ways than one because if it ever did go to court you can say this was completely unprovoked.

I am not sure about the legalities of this but what I would do is book some time with a solicitor specialising in libel law and go and see them. i believe they can give you a half hour for an affordable rate, sometimes they even do this for nothing. It is worth contacting the Law Society who may be able to advise you what your immediate course of action should be.

http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/home.law

Meanwhile I would stay away from these people and do not reply to them in any way shape or form, you may find that ignoring them completely cuts off their oxygen.

I have never logged onto, or joined either, and have only ever read the threads on 3a's about me, and nothing else. every time I do read anything on there, I feel, kinda dirty? Like I need a shower, if you know what I mean? Thanks for the link, rosiepops, I will look into it later.

Vee8, I will NEVER EVER stop praying for Madeleine, her parents and ALL you good supporters, even when I do not feel able to join the boards at times.
Love to each and every one of you, Christ be with you all. xxx

Mum21 and Rosie are offering very good advice.

IMO, as this person is known to you and is clearly stalking you, you should also discuss with your solicitor whether or not it constitutes harrassment. This is a criminal offence and if the lawyer thinks it is justified, then the police will take it on. It is worth looking into, because only you know just how close to home this is. And the person is clearly unbalanced, meaning that it may be a dangerous situation. In fact, you may be able to go directly to the police. I am sure they have people to offer advice on this sort of thing.

Im sorry for what you daughter and family have been through. As if it wasnt bad enough, you now have this nutter after you. The problem with a libel action is that it is only monetary and doesnt have any other penalties. But with harrassment, it could result in restraining orders and possibly goal terms if it continues and escalates.

Take it further. It may escalate if you do, but it may also escalate if you dont. At the very least, you need expert advice on how to deal with it.

And Vee, my personal best wishes to you and your family, lets hope that you get a resolution very very soon.

Vee8, this is one of those times when I dearly wish I knew someone that could help you out personally.

These Anti's really are scum and I am so sorry you & your family are being subjected to this. I hope you take this further and please let us know if there is anything we can do to help you.

Vee8 .. you are not the only one ..
I have received, on my mobile phone; which is hardly Ever switched on .. 3 strange SMS messages over a period of time. I will, if I have to, take them to the Swiss police .. but as long as they sound like pranks from spotty juveniles I will let it be. How on earth do the Anti's get hold of such information ?? I have never blogged on 3A .. but I remember once on Sky, at the beginning when I was a complete novice, I briefly used my full name by mistake!!..
Was this supposed to shut me up? and are they responsible for my "error on page" which has kept me off Life of Crime ? I could get quite paranoid about this .. but not afraid. I've spent too long on this planet to be deterred by loser-dweebs. And I don't think they live in Switzerland either (the police here are NOT to be messed with)!!

Who knows who sent them .. but the Hadron Collider & my upcoming house move are enough to frazzle me without peculiar SMS messages from weirdos.

vee8 wrote:Is it possible to bring a private/civil charge of libel against someone on behalf of a third party? You can probably guess what I am thinking, I am just so sick of seeing blogs that spew sh*t and corruption on the internet, and feel frustrated at not doing as much as I can to stuff 'em. I know the McCann's lawyers have their details, but they are probably more interested in the bigger fish at the moment, like newspapers and book authors, and so on. I just wondered if we could club together somehow, and bring a private libel case against some of these scumbags, with all moneys won naturally going to the find Madeleine fund. Ideas anyone? Or would this be treading on the official lawyers toes?

Dianeh said..........

"Chinadoll

Your understanding of libel law is only partly right. For a standard libel suit, it is necessary to prove damages. But for libel per se, once this is proven, damages are assumed. That is because it is implied by law that this libel is so serious that damages will certainly result. This is IMO what the McCanns will sue for.

Things that come under libel per se, murder, kidnapping, major fraud. So as you can see, many of the anti's are in fact guilty of libel per se, and the McCanns will not have to prove damages. And with libel per se, the only defence is the truth. It is no defence to write as though it is your own opinion, this is not an acceptable defence. This is why the Express gave in so readily to the McCanns libel suit They were caught and had no way out.

There are many good websites that explain libel and libel per se. Even Wikipedia, and I have confirmed what the wiki said against other legal web sites. And Libel per se, is part of British common law."

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Hi Dianeh,

I think we are at cross purposes here. I agree with your post on libel, but I was responding to Vee8's opening post, which I interpreted as a third unrelated party instigating proceedings and I did not think that that would be accepted. I was not commenting on the ability of the McCanns to succeed in same, indeed, I am waiting for more progress in that regard, as in addition to the Express group of newspapers, they have been libelled repeatedly by other media outlets, authors, forums, you name it. Regards,

Chinadoll