Is Suing for Disclosure Profitable a Lie? Current Lawyers Talk About the Harsh Reality That Slander Trials Can Result in Losses

Mr. A, a YouTuber, was continuously slandered by a stranger, Mr. B., who said he was a drug addict, a fraud, and that his company was in violation of the law. What kind of person was he? One would imagine that he must have been extremely stressed by the attacks from a stranger, but it seems that he was a little different.

“He himself doesn’t really care much about the existence of the antagonists,” said YouTuber A. “He feels that he should just leave them alone. He feels that he should just leave them alone and reads off posts such as ‘stupid,’ ‘die,’ and ‘bad taste. He is a cheerful person at heart, and I am amazed at his mental strength. So this case was more in the form of Mr. A’s company coming to us for advice because they couldn’t bear to see him go through with it,” said Authense’s lawyer.

Nevertheless, the charges and lawsuit were probably a decision made by Mr. A himself, perhaps because B was so malicious.

Yes, the words “drugs,” “fraud,” and “violation of the law” were indeed too much to pass up, and it was probably because he was so persistent. Mr. A had several other anti-posters, but he was consulted, saying, ‘I want to do something about this one (B).

So, how was the case finally settled? First, the criminal complaint was summarily dismissed, and Mr. B was fined approximately 300,000 yen. In the civil suit, the court ruled that Mr. B must pay approximately 800,000 yen in compensation to Mr. A. Mr. A will only receive approximately 800,000 yen in compensation.

It is still surprising that only 800,000 yen in compensation was awarded. The amount is too low for a man who had been written so many falsehoods and had even gone to trial for them.

The fact that the full amount of the attorney’s fees required for the disclosure request was not approved is also a factor in this case. I suppose that the judgment of the case is different from that of a case in which an ordinary person is slandered, in that running a business involves a certain amount of risk. Regardless of the pros and cons, my impression is that companies may be a little more strict in this type of case.

So what if the person suing for slander is entirely an individual? According to Authense’s lawyer, “It depends on the content, but it may be easier to determine whether it is an infringement of rights than for a corporation.

Mr. A is a celebrity and the company has a certain amount of publicity, so it was decided that the public’s postings would really discredit the company. It is conceivable that if this had been a slander suffered by a member of the public, it might have been judged a bit differently because the degree of impact would have been different.”

In the cases that Authense attorneys have seen so far, the attorney’s fee is about 1 million yen for a civil suit only after the disclosure request, and the settlement amount is about 1 to 1.5 million yen after negotiations, which is about even.

“In fact, I would like to see more compensation paid,” he said. “I feel sorry for them because they have been written so many terrible things about me. The biggest problem is that in Japan, the amount of compensation is too loW,” said a lawyer from Authense.

The main problem is that the fee is too low in Japan.  The reason why the settlement was not settled for 3 million yen this time was apparently influenced by the fact that a celebrity’s slander case was settled for 3.5 million yen at the same time.

It is too late to say for certain, but if the case had been settled for 3 million yen, Mr. A would have been left with about 1.5 million yen, half of what he would have received excluding attorney’s fees. In fact, “there are a certain number of cases that settle for 2 to 3 million yen,” says Authense’s lawyer.

People seem to think that you can make money by suing for slander, but there is a gap between that and reality, because only very successful cases are reported in the media. I hope that people understand that it is not a matter of ‘doing it to get a good feeling,’ and that it is not a matter of ‘doing it for the financial gain.

Some may be disappointed by the surprisingly harsh reality. However, if one can be freed from the worries of slander for about 1 million yen, it is considered much better than crying oneself to sleep. It is not a bad idea to consult a lawyer once if you are worried.