Q: "I would like to know if I can sue for defamation.
. Someone falsely claimed on Facebook that I slept with multiple people and gave them an STD, accompanied by degrading comments and a screenshot of my profile and posts. This has directly impacted my personal relationships and employment, but I have no way to contact the person to ask them to remove the posts."
A:
You certainly may sue for defamation. Some considerations are:
1. Can you identify the defendant and locate the person? You'll need to get a summons served for the court to acquire jurisdiction.
2. Are you willing and able to spend thousands of dollars litigating? If you need to subpoena Facebook to obtain the identity or IP address used by the defendant when posting, that will be expensive. If you can only get the IP address then you'll need to subpoena the service provider for the account used. That will be expensive too.
3. Can you prove actual damages? Defamation cases are difficult under Missouri law.
4. If you obtain a judgment, will it be collectible? Does the defendant have a job or a house?
5. If you obtain a judgment in Missouri, are you willing to hire an attorney in the defendant's state (if other than MO), to register the foreign judgment there.
If you decide to move forward, hire someone familiar with defamation law in Missouri.
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