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Dealing with defamation charges and contests to aviation liens

On Behalf of | Nov 6, 2019 | Aviation

Unfortunately, it’s common for those servicing an aircraft to be indebted for one reason or another. For example, fuel suppliers may not be fully reimbursed for their services and the amount of fuel supplied. Alternatively, a mechanic may not have been fully paid for the work that they performed on the aircraft. In a situation such as this, a lien may be imposed on an airplane if other efforts to regain the debt have been unsuccessful.

A lien is a right to a portion of the property when a certain debt is owed. This means that when a lien is held against an aircraft, it is unable to fly until the lien is settled. Many aircraft carriers can aggressively defend themselves from such liens, especially if they believe that they were imposed maliciously. As a result, they may try to take action against the person enforcing the lien and accuse them of defamation or slander. If you have been accused of defamation as a result of filing an aviation lien, you must take swift action to defend yourself.

What is defamation?

Defamation is the act of broadcasting false information about a person or a party that leads to damages to the person’s or party’s reputation or business success. Three elements need to be proven if a person is to be successfully accused of defamation. First, it needs to be shown that the statement made was, in fact, defamatory and false. Second, it needs to be shown that the false statement was made to a third party when they knew or should have known that the statement was false. Third, the person publishing the information needs to have acted negligently. In some cases, the occurrence of damages should also be proven.

How can I defend myself from a defamation accusation?

The easiest way that you can defend against a defamation accusation is to show that the statement that you made was not false. Alternatively, you could claim that you had a good reason to believe that the statement you made was true and that you made an honest mistake.

You must defend yourself aggressively if you have been accused of defamation after filing an aviation lien.

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