The Hadera Magistrate's Court recently ordered a woman who revealed that her sister's husband had been cheating on her "for years" in the family WhatsApp group to pay him NIS 60,000 ($16,200) in damages. Judge Yaniv Heller determined that no defenses stood for her, as she violated her responsibility regarding slander.
The background involves the plaintiff and his wife agreeing to a one-year "time out" from their marriage. They shared custody of their children, and in April 2020, the husband moved out and rented an apartment in another city. Eventually, the wife discovered that her husband had an affair with his dental hygienist, leading to a permanent separation and divorce.
In January 2021, just before the "time out" period was set to end, the wife’s sister messaged her nieces in a family WhatsApp group with 23 members, writing: "Your dad is cheating on your mom with a girl who was in my class. She was his dental hygienist, and now she's his lover... You know your dad has been cheating for years, and you haven't saved your mom from this betrayal."
Three months later, the father filed a lawsuit claiming this was slander and sought at least NIS 100,000 ($27,000) in damages.
On the other hand, his former sister-in-law contended that she sent the message out of genuine concern to protect her sister and maintained that her message was truthful, as he had indeed been unfaithful and started a relationship with another person before the divorce. Thus, she argued that legal defenses related to slander should absolve her from any liability for defamation damages.
Judge Heller concluded that there was no dispute over whether the statements made by the defendant's sister-in-law constituted slander as defined by law and that they met the criteria for publication.
The only issue, he noted, was whether the defendant was entitled to the defenses of substantial truth or acting in good faith, which should absolve her from any liability for defamation damages.
The judge believed the testimony of the plaintiff and his current wife, who claimed that their romantic relationship began only after his separation from his first wife. The couple’s marital therapist also testified, noting that during the "time out" period, she did not prohibit the plaintiff from starting a relationship with another woman.
However, the judge found the defendant's testimony unclear and noted her abrupt exit from the courtroom. He concluded that she did not genuinely know whether the plaintiff had been cheating "for years" on her sister and had acted without verifying the facts, benefiting from her sister in the process.
The judge added that the message did not demonstrate good faith, remarking, "Publishing a message saying 'Your dad has been cheating on your mom for years' to his children in a group of over 20 members, including minors and family members, exceeds reasonable boundaries.
Given these circumstances, he ordered the defendant to compensate her former brother-in-law NIS 40,000 ($10,800) and to cover legal and attorney fees totaling NIS 20,000 ($5,400).