Tampa Defamation And Reputation Lawyers

Last updated on October 21, 2026

False Statements Can Cost A License, A Sale, A Job, Or A Parenting Case

Westchase Law, P.A., treats defamation as its own practice. It is not a personal-injury add-on and it is not a footnote on a divorce page.

We represent people and companies who have been defamed. We also represent people and companies who have been accused. The first question is the same: what was said, where it was published, and whether it is a fact or an opinion. Defamation is the claim. Libel is a written or posted statement. Slander is the spoken one. The five elements are the same.

What Is Defamation In Florida?

Florida law protects opinion and even coarse insults. It does not protect a false statement of fact published to a third party.

A Florida defamation claim has five parts:

• Publication. The statement was shared with someone other than the subject.
• Falsity. The statement is a false assertion of fact, not a protected opinion.
• Fault. At least negligence for a private person. Actual malice (knowledge of falsity, or reckless disregard) if the plaintiff is a public figure.
• Actual damages. Harm to reputation, work, or standing, unless the statement is defamatory per se.
• A defamatory statement. The words tend to injure reputation.

Defamation Per Se

Some statements are defamatory per se. Read alone, without extra explanation, they charge a crime, tend to subject a person to hatred, distrust, ridicule, contempt, or disgrace, or tend to injure that person in a trade or profession.

Accusing a licensed professional of fraud, kickbacks, or unethical billing is the usual example. So is a statement to a board, an employer, or a customer that the person is stealing or cannot be trusted with money. Per se status can presume damages. It does not excuse the need to prove fault.

Defamation By Implication

A statement does not have to be false word for word to be defamatory. The Florida Supreme Court has held that “literally true statements can be defamatory where they create a false impression.” Jews for Jesus, Inc. v. Rapp, 997 So. 2d 1098, 1106 (Fla. 2008). Defamation by implication “arises, not from what is stated, but from what is implied,” when a speaker lines up facts “so as to imply a defamatory connection between them” or “creates a defamatory implication by omitting facts.” Id. It rests “not on direct statements but on false suggestions, impressions and implications arising from otherwise truthful statements.” Id. at 1107. In other words, a speaker can have “the details right but the ‘gist’ wrong.” Id. at 1108 (quoting Prosser & Keeton).

Here is a real example. A broadcast reported only true facts about a man, but airing them next to other stories created the false impression that he had abused his wife and children. Id. at 1106.

What gets judged is not each true fact but “the false impression given by the juxtaposition or omission of facts.” Id. at 1108 n.13. Truth is still a defense if the implication itself is true. Westchase Law, P.A., looks at what was said, what was left out, and what a reader would take away.

Adding “allegedly” does not make a false accusation safe. Writing that someone ‘allegedly stole from clients’ still tells readers they are a thief. We look at what the words communicate, not the hedge in front of them.

How We Can Help

• Demand and retraction. We identify the exact words, the audience, and the date, and we demand a full and fair retraction in language we approve.
• Content removal. We press the poster, the host, and the platform to take the post down.
• Interference with a business. When the audience is a board, an employer, or a book of business, the same letter may plead tortious interference.
• Defense and anti-SLAPP. Defense and anti-SLAPP. Florida’s anti-SLAPP statute, section 768.295, bars lawsuits filed without merit and primarily because someone spoke on a public issue, such as a statement to a government body or in a news report, book, broadcast, or similar work. A defendant can move for an expedited hearing to dismiss or for summary judgment, and the court must award reasonable attorney’s fees and costs to the prevailing party on that claim. If you were sued or accused, we also look at truth, opinion, and privilege.
• Lawsuit. If the other side does not retract, we will sue.

How A Reputation File Starts

A file often starts with a cease-and-desist and a demand for retraction. Section 770.01, Florida Statutes, requires five days’ notice prior to filing suit if the defendant is a media defendant. A media defendant is a publisher whose business is disseminating news or information to the public, such as a newspaper, television station, radio station, or similar outlet. Section 770.02 can affect the damages that are recoverable after a prompt retraction. The two-year period for libel and slander is section 95.11 (5)(h), Florida Statutes.

Bring the URL, the screenshot, the date you first saw it, and the names of anyone who received it (a board, an employer, a customer, a licensing body). Do not contact the poster. Do not edit or delete your own records. We will send a preservation notice covering texts, emails, posts, screenshots, livestreams, and drafts.

Some reputation fights start in a divorce or a custody case. Just because one is in a heated family law case, it does not mean one has the right to defame their former spouse, colleague, or friend.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who qualifies as a media defendant?

When you’re a media defendant, the statute requires at least five days before a plaintiff can file a complaint against you. This is section 770.01, Florida Statutes. A media defendant is a publisher whose business is disseminating news or information to the public, such as a newspaper, television station, radio station, or similar outlet. Florida courts have applied the statute to some online publishers, such as news sites and blogs that operate like news outlets. An ordinary person’s Google review is generally not from a media defendant, so the five-day notice typically would not apply. We still send a demand letter, and we treat it as the statutory notice whenever the statute may apply.

What does a useful retraction look like?

It names the false statement, withdraws it, and goes to the same audience that saw the original: the review page, the board, the ethics committee, the university file, the false police report. We draft the language. We help you achieve a robust retraction, because without it, we’ll relentlessly pursue your legal rights.

What if I were the one accused?

Have you been accused of making a false statement that damaged someone? If you are facing a claim that unjustly demands you pay to restore someone else’s reputation, the first question is simple: does the complaint actually satisfy the elements of defamation? It takes experience to spot the gap between what’s alleged and what’s provable. We also look at whether Florida’s anti-SLAPP statute applies. Anti-SLAPP, short for strategic lawsuit against public participation, is a law that lets you ask the court to quickly end a meritless lawsuit filed mainly to punish you for speaking out on a public issue. If you win that motion, the court must award your reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.

Call Our Tampa Defamation Attorneys

Call 813-490-5211 or reach out online. Tell us what was said, where it appeared, and when you first saw it.