The information we are putting on this website is public information and completely legal to be shared, we have spent numerous hours with our slander, libel attorney making sure that everything we are doing is to the letter of the law.

It is important to understand that frivolous lawsuits are filed all the time and a property owner may try to sue you simply for filing a lien against him/her. Therefore, posting a lien on this website should not make you more susceptible to being sued. If, however, you are sued for defamation of title, public disclosure of private facts, or false light, there are defenses and privileges that are likely to protect you and should be asserted in your answer. These defenses and privileges are listed and explained in further detail below.

Defense to Defamation of Title and False Light Claims

Truth is always a defense to any defamation or false light lawsuit. O.C.G.A. § 51- 5-6 Therefore, if you can prove that all of the statements in a lien that you post on this website are true, you should prevail if the property owner files a defamation of title lawsuit you.

Defense to Publication of Private Facts Claim

The property owner may try to argue that you are invading his/her privacy by posting the lien on the internet. However, unfortunately for the property owner, every lien that you file is open to the public. Thus, statements contained in the lien should be considered a matter of public record as opposed to a private fact. Therefore, you are likely to prevail in an invasion of privacy lawsuit.

Conditional Privilege for Defamation of Title Claims

Any lien you post on this website should be conditionally privileged for the purposes of a defamation claim so long as the statements you made in the lien were made with a good faith intent to protect your interest in the property. See F.S. Associates, Ltd. v. McMichael’s Construction Company, Inc., 197 Ga. App. 705, 708 (1990). In other words, the privilege will not exist if you made the statements in the lien with actual malice (i.e., you either knew the statements were false or recklessly disregarded whether they were false). See Smith v. Henry, 276 Ga. App. 831, 833 (2005).

Absolute Privilege for Defamation of Title Claims

Unlike the conditional privilege mentioned above, an absolute privilege does not require you to prove that you acted in good faith in posting the lien. Thus, this is the privilege you want to shoot for. It is also, however, the hardest privilege to obtain, because the privilege applies only to statements that are contained in &quo;pleadings.&quo; A lien will be considered a &quo;pleading&quo; only if you comply with the following four requirements:

1. you must file the lien with the superior court in the county where the property is located within 3 months of completing the work;
2. you must notify the property owner that the lien has been filed;
3. you must file a suit to enforce the lien within 12 months after the date that the claim was due; and
4. you must file a verified notice of the lawsuit within 14 days of filing the lawsuit.

If you meet these four requirements, you will have an absolute privilege that should protect you in a defamation of title claim. See Simmons v. Futral, 262 Ga. App. 838, 840-841 (2003).