Q: Do I have any recourse when my ex (his father) falsely accuses me of molesting my son?
My 20 yr. old son had breakfast with his father and his aunt (father's sister) a few days ago. Being too embarrassed to tell me he sent a text message stating that his father said that when he was younger I used to "put my mouth on his penis and his father would get mad at me." This is absolutely not true. Also, I can't believe that even had I done this, any father's reaction to such a horrible act would be nothing more than "getting mad" ... I am very upset about this. Do I have any legal means of suing him as I would expect these are not the only two people he has said this to.
A: A defamation lawsuit requires three things: a lie someone is likely to have believed, publication, and damages resulting from the lie. Publication means letting a third-party know. Damages are where you will likely have a problem. If you were fired because of this, you might have a case, but there really isn't much here to prove you were damaged.
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