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January 30, 2023

Unsolicited comments about an employee to other employers could give rise to defamation claims.

On January 30, 2023, in Abdul-Haqq v. LaLiberte, the Minnesota court of appeals held that “Minnesota law does not recognize a qualified privilege for defamatory statements made while dispensing unsolicited career advice.”  There, LaLiberte contracted with Liam Hawkins as a sales representative for a storm-damage repair company.  Several years later, Hawkins contracted with a company associated with Abdul-Haqq.  LaLiberte subsequently sent several texts messages to Hawkins that disparaged Abdul-Haqq so that Hawkins could make an informed decision about working for Abdul-Haqq.  Abdul-Haqq then sued LaLiberte, alleging the statements in LaLiberte’s text messages were defamatory.  A jury awarded $300,000 in damages...
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