Lets say we choose a random town off of google maps on which to base a story where the local authorities (we won't say police, or whatnot, but local authorities) perform an investigation that is completely off-protocol and basically corrupt.
Or something like that...the local authorities of X CITY Y STATE are (in a fictional context) completely corrupt and self serving.
The story becomes a hit, and suddenly this previously unknown town has a bad reputation completely based on a random fictional account.
Is this, in the writer's world, a scenario that already has guidelines?
Can a city create a lawsuit against an author for a bad portrayal in fiction?