Illinois defamation law

Sued for Defamation in Illinois? The Defenses That Can End the Case Before It Gains Momentum

May 24, 2026 | Peter S. Lubin and James V. DiTommaso

The summons rarely feels proportional to what happened. You left an honest review of a contractor. You warned a colleague about a vendor who had burned you. You answered a reporter’s question, or posted what you believed was true, or simply repeated what half the industry already knew. Now a process server is at the door and a complaint accuses you of defamation, demands a sum with a lot of zeros, and frames your words as if they were a calculated act of malice. The plaintiff is betting that the cost and fear of litigation will make you apologize, retract, and pay before anyone tests whether the claim is any good.

Often the claim is not good. Illinois defamation law is far more demanding of plaintiffs than most people sued under it realize, and several of its defenses are designed to end a weak case early, before it drains a year of your life. We tell clients the truth in both directions. A genuinely false and damaging statement of fact can cost you. But a great many defamation suits are built on opinion, on substantially true statements, on words that carry an innocent meaning, or on a theory that runs out of time. Knowing which is which is the whole game.

Begin with what the plaintiff must prove. A defamation claim in Illinois requires a false statement of fact about the plaintiff, an unprivileged publication of that statement to a third party, some level of fault, and damage to the plaintiff’s reputation. Each element is a place where a case can fail. The requirement that the statement be one of fact, and false, is the one defendants underuse. Continue reading ›

Social-Media Accusations, and Defamation or Business Control Lawsuits in the Social Media Age

November 15, 2025 | Peter S. Lubin and James V. DiTommaso

The New Reality: Accusations Before Investigation

In the modern environment, a single social-media post can trigger a storm of attention, formal investigations, and sometimes a lawsuit. We have dealt with this type of situtation in many of our lible and business control cases.

Our firm represents pleaintiffs and defendants in these highly chargds cases that sit at the intersection of social causes and modern defamation or business control law.

Discovery Battles Over PR Firm Documents

A major battleground in these case can be obtaining through discovery outside public relations firm documents and communciations when the opposing side has relied on such a firm. Those documents can matter if for instance they show whether the lawsuit is a genuine attempt to vindicate a reputation—or part of a broader public-relations campaign and lawfare as opposed to legitimate libel or business control suit

Illinois law treats discovery as broadly relevant if it has any tendency to make a fact in issue more or less probable. A 2019 appellate decision reported at 2019 IL App (1st) 182354, ¶ 35, and another at 2017 IL App (1st) 161918, ¶ 14, emphasize that discovery is not limited to what will be admissible at trial, but also includes what may lead to admissible evidence. That principle supports our effort to obtain communications with the public relations firm that helped craft talking points, draft emails to classmates, and shape threats to witnesses.

Courts have also recognized that public-relations work is generally not protected as attorney work product, even if it touches on litigation strategy. Decisions reported at 265 Ill. App. 3d 654 (1st Dist. 1994), 329 F.R.D. 628 (N.D. Cal. 2019), and 290 F.R.D. 421 (S.D.N.Y. 2013) hold that communications with outside consultants like publicists are ordinarily discoverable. We rely on that authority to argue that the PR firm documents must be produced.

Defamation in the Age of Anonymous Accounts

Because the original accusations in some of cases were posted through social-media accounts that sometimes hid the poster’s identity, we also deal with the cutting edge of online defamation. We regularly work with subpoenas to platforms such as Yelp, Google and SnapChat, IP and device information, and cross-referencing of screenshots, deletion logs, and metadata to tie anonymous statements back to real people.

Our role is not to silence legitimate speech about misconduct, but to defend people who tell the truth and to prosecute peole who libel our clients.

What Sets Our Firm Apart in Defamation Work and Business Dispute Work

Our lawyers have handled complex libel and business control suits that blend:

High-profile media coverage, social-media and PR campaigns;
Aggressive discovery disputes over expert witnesses, PR firms, and internal investigations.

Because we routinely litigate both defamation and business torts, we are comfortable with large-scale document collections, forensic email and text discovery, and cross-border issues when the parties and witnesses are in different states. Continue reading ›

Defamation Inside the Family or With Ex-Lovers: Protecting Reputations from False Accusations

November 14, 2025 | Peter S. Lubin and James V. DiTommaso

Overview

Few things are more devastating than being falsely accused of abusing a family member or former partner. We have represented libel clients on both sides of these disputes as plaintiffs or defendants. Often, the accusations did not go to law enforcement; instead, they spread through social media or phone calls, texts, and conversations among relatives, friends and community members. The results are a reputational firestorm and give rise to profound personal crisis.

How We Frame the Case Legally

Under Illinois law, statements that falsely accuse someone of serious sexual crimes are classic defamation per se: the law presumes damage because the accusation itself is so serious. In the cases we have litigated, we have pled or defended defamation per se, defamation per quod, and false-light invasion of privacy claims, along with a requests for injunctive relief to stop the ongoing smear campaign.

Illinois courts recognize that accusing someone of a felony, particularly a sexual felony, is inherently reputation-destroying. One leading decision, reported at 174 Ill.2d 77 (1996), confirms that imputing the commission of a crime fits squarely within the traditional categories of defamation per se. We rely on that framework to seek both compensatory and punitive damages when the facts support it.

Exposing a Pattern of Fabrication

In defending or prosecuting libel claims we often work with private investigators and obtain witness statements, we developed evidence that the plaintiff is in fact a sexual predator or the accuser has a history of storytelling and retaliating with lies and smears.

By the time we file suit, we try to be well prepared which is critical to properly preparing case and then persuading a court or jury that the accusation is false and malicious, not simply a misunderstanding or poor wording or that our client was telling the truth about a former lover, friend or relative.

Damages Beyond Dollars

In cases like this, the harm is not limited to economic losses. We are experienced in defending or briing claims for emotional distress and have objected substantial stress damages awards for plaintiff clients.

What Makes Our Approach Different

Cases involving intra-family or fallen out lover allegations of sexual misconduct require a blend of compassion and toughness. We spend extensive time preparing our clients for the emotional realities of litigation while aggressively pursuing discovery that can test the truthfulness of the allegations.

Our litigation strategy in these matters typically includes:

Targeted written discovery that forces the accuser to lock into specific dates, locations, and alleged acts.
Subpoenas to therapists and treatment providers, where appropriate and lawful, to see whether the therapy narrative matches what is being said to the family or ex-friend or lover.
Investigative work to uncover prior instances where the accuser made other serious accusations or fabricated crises or engaged in similar misconduct.
Motions for injunctive relief to stop further publication of the false accusations while the case is pending.

Because we also regularly litigate internet and social-media defamation, we are adept at tracking down who said what, where, and when—even when the smear campaign plays out primarily in group chats, private messages, and closed online communities. Continue reading ›