Q: Can I counter sue if I am being defamed by another employee that was fired?
An employee that was fired sued the company for wrongful termination and states that I was a liar. I believe I am being defamed. When she sued the company my name was included in the lawsuit. I was given a DISC-001 Interrogatories general form. It has plaintiffs information ad well as JAMS case refernce number. Since then I have emotional distress and pain and suffering on how this case is going. HR and company lawyer have not informed me it was resolved. My name was involved in a court case and I want to have it cleared.
A:
You cannot sue someone for defamation arising out of allegations in a lawsuit. There is a litigation privilege that would kill your claim as soon as it was filed. Your only possible recourse for being sued and suffering emotional distress from the lawsuit is if you could state a meritorious claim for malicious institution of civil proceedings, which requires that you first win the lawsuit and then prove that there was no merit whatsoever to the legal claim and that it was brought for an improper purpose.
Good luck to you.
A:
You are entitled to legal representation paid for by the employer. If they are not providing it to you, then you need to contact a local employee rights attorney and retain them to represent you against the employer and this former employee. If the former employee was terminated over some rule violation, or other situation, not a claim of sex harassment or other discrimination, you should not be involved in the case at all, and you need your own representation called "Cumis counsel", which, again, is paid for by the employer.
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