A couple filed false complaints to the police regarding "noise" emanating from their neighbors' apartment.
The Court accepted the neighbors' claim and held that the accumulated incidents of false complaints submitted in bad faith constitute defamation. Filing a complaint with the police can be considered a publication that establishes liability for defamation. At the same time, the publisher has a defense if the publication, by way of a complaint submitted to the competent authority to receive such complaints about the victim or to investigate the matter, is done in good faith. Here, the couple filed complaints against their neighbors to the police repeatedly, calling the police to their apartment around midnight while disturbing their rest. The couple continued to complain about sports noises made by the neighbor, even after it became clear that the neighbor did not live at the house at the time and they initiate several legal actions despite not taking reasonable measures to verify where the noise was coming from or present documentation to that effect. Filing a false complaint by the complainant knowing that his complaint is not true, as was done here, is not behavior in good faith and constitutes defamation that qualifies for compensation.