The elders often say, “You don’t become small by saying sorry; rather it’s an indicator of your bravery”. People usually find it harder to forgive someone for being right than the opposite, but in the power play of real-life situations, often an apology can save you a lot of time and money. On the other hand, your reputation may have been damaged somehow by false allegations and untrue facts. In both cases, you will need the help of defamation lawyers in Perth.
However, often, the most experienced will tell you to go with an apology for the swift resolution of the issue. Therefore, knowing what a sorry can get you in a slander case is best. Here, we have presented the most important arguments in this regard.
What is defamation?
People can get offended by someone’s face, but that doesn’t make it a case for a defamation suit. Knowing the legal parameters before demanding an apology is important, as wasting the legal court’s time can give one a very large egg in the face. So, the popular definition of defamation is “publishing” defamatory and untrue statements about someone. Here, publishing implies clear communication with others; you won’t defame somebody by telling what you think of him.
For example, defamation will happen when A will write a letter to B saying, “C is a womanizer”, or post on social media that “C is a terrorist”. ‘A’ can face a defamation suit if the remark isn’t true.
However, if A writes a letter to C stating that “you are a thief”, – the comment may be derogatory but won’t qualify as a slander in court. In reality, as most of the experienced defamation solicitors in WA suggest, the defamation rule is theoretically clear enough but procedural and difficult in practice. However, issuing an apology will help in reducing any damage effectively.
What are the advantages of making an apology?
You can go into a legal battle with someone who has filed a defamation suit against you and spend time and money. However, it will become hard to win when the other party can prove the validity of their accusation, which can cause you to shell out a substantial fine for aggravated damages.
In addition, you may belong to a powerful organization (like a political party or a publishing house) and consider yourself safe from prosecution. Your colleagues will run over each other to make distance from you, should you get convicted as guilty in a libation lawsuit. Therefore, it is better to employ the services of skilled lawyers of publication defamation law in WA and issue an apology. Here are some of its apparent benefits:
Reduced harm and reimbursement
One may still face the legal system even if they offer an apology. Professional defamation solicitors in WA always highlight the harm caused in these lawsuits, so an apology here can reduce the harm and lessen the amount of compensation to be paid if the defamed may not accept it. The court will take the presence and absence of an apology as an important factor when assessing the damages of this lawsuit.
However, you should know that although it may reduce financial harm, it will not give you a clean slate. Moreover, the apology has to be timely and genuine, or it will be ineffective.
Fighting a case and seeing it to the end requires a lot of time and money, and often, people want to end the matter quickly. An apology within the appropriate time may neutralize the injury caused and produce a sense of pardon in the accused person. They may forgive and one can avoid a costly and time-consuming lawsuit.
Dilute the accusation of malice
A defamer with malice will never back down from its action, and it will cause heavy financial and legal penalties once the libel is proven. The critical defences by the most proficient publication defamation lawyer in Perth will harm them, and they may have to pay more penalties as punitive and aggravated damages. Here, an apology will challenge an accusation of malicious intent and act as evidence.
In conclusion
Although it may reduce a person’s apparent penalty, an apology can also act as evidence of wrongdoing if made while testifying in court or through external testimony such as an affidavit. It is, therefore, prudent to consult the most renowned defamation lawyers in Perth before going down the apology route for a libel suit.
