Slander of Title: When False Statements About Property Ownership Causes Harm
If someone published a false and disparaging statement about your property and it harmed you, you may have a basis for a lawsuit against that party. Most slander cases concern words published about a person that put them in a false and negative light. Slander of title is along the same lines, but it’s about ownership of property, not a person.
I represent clients dealing with real estate and business disputes, including those involved in slander of title claims. If you believe you’re the victim of slander of title, or you’ve been accused of it by another, contact me at (949) 244-4207.
This situation may come up many ways, including:
- A party wants to harm you by making it difficult for you to sell your property or use it as you’d like
- A competing property seller wants to make their property more attractive
- Someone wants to buy your property for a lower price, so says something that decreases the demand for it
What Do I Need to Prove?
In this type of lawsuit, you would claim the defendant (the party you’re suing) harmed you by making a statement or taking an action that casts doubt about (or clouds) your ownership of a piece of property. To be successful, you have the burden of proving:
- The defendant made a statement or did something (like recording a deed) that could create doubts about your ownership
- That statement was made to someone other than you
- The statement is false and you own the property
- Defendant didn’t have any legal privilege or justification to make the statement or take the act
- If there was a privilege, you could succeed by showing defendant acted with malice (bad intentions toward you)
- The defendant knew it was untrue or acted with reckless disregard of the truth or falsity of whether you owned the property.
- To show reckless disregard, you would need to prove the defendant knew it was highly probable the conduct would cause harm and knowingly ignored the risk. You need not show an intent to harm you
- The defendant knew or should’ve known someone else might act in reliance on the statement or deed, causing you a financial loss
- You suffered an immediate and direct financial harm because someone else acted in reliance on the statement or deed or you had legal expenses to clear title and remove the doubt caused cast by the statement or deed
- The defendant’s acts were a substantial factor in causing your harm
What Can I Be Awarded in a Successful Slander of Title Case?
If you’re successful with this kind of case, you could be awarded the money you lost caused by the slander. This can be decreased value or the increased effort needed to sell it, plus the reasonably necessary costs of measures that were reasonably necessary to counteract the statement’s effects. This includes the cost of litigation and attorneys’ fees to remove the doubt cast on the title.
How Do I Defend Myself?
If you’re the defendant in this kind of case, your defenses could be:
- Your statement is true
- You didn’t make the statement
- The statement wasn’t published
- You had a legal privilege or justification for making the statement
- The plaintiff didn’t suffer harm, the statement had no impact
- Your statement was not a substantial factor in causing harm to the plaintiff. Others caused it
- The lawsuit wasn’t filed in time (there’s a three-year statute of limitation)
We’re Here to Help
This is not a common lawsuit, but these kinds of statements and behavior can be very costly and throw someone’s plans for their property into chaos. If this happened to you, reach out to our office and learn about your rights.
If you have questions about slander of title or you believe you need legal help with such a claim, call us at (949) 244-4207 or fill out our contact form today. We can talk about your situation, how California law may apply, and what you should do next.
