What can be done about someone who is spreading vicious rumors about me that are untrue?
Here’s a very brief description of the two main areas of law you should perhaps be looking at, but first there is an important . . . CAVEAT: Any legal advice acquired through a channel such as this should be regarded as For Amusement Only. If you’re describing an actually existent problem, CONSULT AN ATTORNEY. That said, the following may give you a brief overview of some of the things you’ll be talking to that attorney about. Your basic choices are first, to sue for defamation of character under the libel or slander laws (depending on whether the spreading is merely oral — slander — or in some tangible or broadcast form — libel), or second, to sue under invasion of privacy laws. Invasion of privacy here means not the generalized right that’s getting a lot of media attention (identity theft issues, gov’t intrusion, data-sharing) but particular laws available to individuals, either statutory or under the common law of your state. Defamation means disseminating false information that
