would this be considered slander?

[zectasy]

as most of you know i have had the worse luck with the dealership i bought my car from...i want to put a decal on the back window of my car that says something like "before you buy a car at hove buick nissan you might wanna talk to me about my horrible experience" or something really funny that knocks the dealership i just dont wanna end up having them try to sue me for talking shit or something...any advice?

[dbkehoe]

No, but it might be libel. Slander is verbal.

[slow35th]

Ah....Go for it. They might take notice. You could picket their parking lot.

[zectasy]

its the fact that this isnt the only bad thing that has happened to me at this dealer...they scratched my 350z really bad when i took it in for trans. work and they didnt do anything about it....now that this has happened i have also heard other bad things about this dealership....also when we went there to buy the car they had no air on and it was like 80-85 degrees in there...no fans or nothing...worse service than a used car dealership....i wanna spread the word that these guys dont deserve business.

[Mannyiac]

Rent a billboard by the dealership and put up a sign expressing your displeasure. I had a friend do this to a insurance company when they wouldn't settle with him over a house fire. It cost him 2800 bucks to rent for a month but the insurance company called him and they settled quickly. Of course he was fighting for over a 100 grand but he learned that you can get some justice if you create some bad publicity.

[jteolis]

Libel can be personal libel or trade libel, which is also known as “product disparagement” and can include a product, service or company.

Libelous statements are published statements that are false and damaging. Slander is the same as libel in most states, but in spoken rather than written form. The terms “libel” and “slander” are often subsumed under the term “defamation.”

It is a tort (a wrongful act) to harm another’s reputation by defaming them. How do you know if you might defame someone or something in what you are considering publishing? There are three tests which the defamatory statement must meet in order for a plaintiff to prevail in a suit against you:

1. Untrue. In order to be defamatory, the statement must be untrue. If the statement is true or substantially true, then it is not defamatory, and the case is over.
2. Damaging. In order for the plaintiff to prevail, the statement must have caused real and substantial harm to the person or business. The plaintiff must present evidence of substantial harm done.
3. Knowingly false. The plaintiff must also show that the defendant knew the statement was untrue, but published or broadcast the statement despite that knowledge. From this brief explanation, you can deduce that the best way to avoid a libel charge, or to defeat it, is to: (1) Write only that which is true and can be shown to be true through your meticulous research and note taking. (2) Keep all research for a period of years, depending on the statute of limitations that applies where you are. In sum, you can say or publish just about whatever you wish in our open society—so long as it is true

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...212665-7956904

[pjohnesq]

Originally Posted by zectasy

something like "before you buy a car at hove buick nissan you might wanna talk to me about my horrible experience" or something really funny that knocks the dealership i just dont wanna end up having them try to sue me for talking shit or something...any advice?

That particular language would be protected speech under the first amendment....Also, truth is ALWAYS a defense to a slander/libel action...

[Michael S]

I would tread lightly if I were you. There are better ways to deal with poor service. I have a question though. If you knew of the poor service from previous experience, why did you buy from them agin? Thanks, Mike.

[just lou]

Years ago, my brother had a new home built in a development in Florida.
The work was slow and poorly done. Since he wasn't getting any satisfaction, he took pictures of the poor work, made a big sign with them that said: "come with me to see what a real Miranda Home looks like". He put the sign on the side of his van, and parked in front of the development's model home. Within an hour, after several potential buyers walked away from looking at the model home, Miranda Homes promised all repairs would start immediately, and they gave him several thousand dollars in interior upgrades.

[zectasy]

the bad service was a one time thing in the past...figure i would give them another chance, plus they were the dealership that would give me the most for my trade in....regret it. now i know....took some bs to find out though.

[J.E.T.]

We're preparing such a suit as I type this. A material supplier that we used to buy from circulated an attorney letter in a large subdivision and others right after the hurricanes hit last year. It was their attempt to harm our reputation and enhance their favorite dealer's position. Only real problem was that this "cease and desist" certified letter was never sent to us and even if it was we still had documented proof we were a certified dealer for them. An attorney friend of mine got on the phone immediately to their attorney and had them backing down and apologizing all over the place. They probably cost us at least $1M in new business because EVERYONE needed a new roof at that time. Now we've retained another attorney to persue the action. Personally I hate lawsuits of any kind but this company needs a lesson, and it is coming soon.


JET

[turbojimmy]

Originally Posted by just lou

Years ago, my brother had a new home built in a development in Florida.
The work was slow and poorly done. Since he wasn't getting any satisfaction, he took pictures of the poor work, made a big sign with them that said: "come with me to see what a real Miranda Home looks like". He put the sign on the side of his van, and parked in front of the development's model home. Within an hour, after several potential buyers walked away from looking at the model home, Miranda Homes promised all repairs would start immediately, and they gave him several thousand dollars in interior upgrades.

I had something similar happen to me. I was in the first of 8 or 9 phases (they do a new 'phase' every 6 months or so where they open up new parts of the plot and raise the prices) of my new housing development. Since I was one of the first to move in, I knew there were many years worth of buyers behind me. There were tons of things wrong with my house. Not the usual crap you encounter with a new house, but big structural problems. The builder wouldn't fix them and told me to go ahead and sue him because everyone else does and it doesn't get them anywhere. The new home contract was with a limited liability corporation he set up that operates on the verge of bankruptcy. You can't get anything out of it and he's protected personally. The 'new home warranty' that NJ makes builders provide is a joke - there was no remedy there.

So I bought the domain name of the neighborhood. It's a VERY popular neighborhood in my part of the state and I got tons of hits from prospective buyers. Initially I just had a blank page there to measure traffic. Once I was sure I had enough people visiting the site, I posted only facts and pictures of my problems and a guestbook where other residents could post their problems. Then I e-mailed the builder with the URL and traffic statistics. His lawyer called me within 15 minutes of me hitting the 'send' button on the e-mail. He didn't have a leg to stand on and he knew it. As a resident, I had an interest in owning the domain. They fixed my stuff immediately. All of it. And I took the site down in exchange. Now it's just a neighborhood bulletin board.

Jim

[haute_heir]

HAHA!! I know a guy that bought a brand new Dodge Cummin Pickup a few years back and it light on fire twice, Chrysler wouldn't buy it back as a lemon, so he got about 100 little yellow stickers of lemons and put them on his truck and wrote on the sides, Call ###-#### before you buy a dodge.... I wouldn't mention dealership names or anything though, i'm sure they'll be after you. A fellow Mercedes owner had alot of problems at the dealership we service our Mercedes at, so he opened a website on his 'LEMON' ML430, and wrote his dealership service experiences on there too, they filed suit against him....