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I was accused by a neighbour of some things that I can easily prove were not caused by me. I told her many times she's wrong, emailed her many times how the things actually happened and I can easily prove it. But she keeps going after me to the point that she's now taking me to a court. However that's not why I'm here.

What I want is write a submission for the court hearing and close it with something along these lines:

I trust that this clarifies the situation and clearly shows that Mrs Xyz’s accusations are lies.

I'm not quite happy with "are lies" - I want to call her a liar without calling her a liar. I considered "are not based on facts" but would like something stronger that that. Because it's all lies :)

Any ideas?

BTW I'm not looking for a legal advice, solely English / words advice. Thanks!

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    "Are false" or "are incorrect." I'd still recommend you get a lawyer. This is also off topic here, I think. Probably a better fit on the English language stack.
    – JRE
    Commented Oct 16, 2020 at 8:03
  • A lie is someone saying something they know isn't true. But maybe your neighbour is paranoid or simply mistaken. Describing her assertions as "incorrect" is less satisfying but more neutral.
    – Llewellyn
    Commented Oct 16, 2020 at 18:52

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Be Careful With Your Tone:

It depends on if the person knows the things to be false or not. A lot of people will file things in court in an effort to intimidate you into settling an issue in their favor. Taking you to court and testifying that something they know is false is true is perjury. Saying something is true when you know it to be false is just lying anywhere else. 'Saying falsehoods' implies lying but doesn't say it as aggressively.

Saying someone is wrong is a whole different thing. If someone is crazy, then they could be hallucinating, delusional, or paranoid. Avoid saying that unless you really believe they are. Mostly, I'd go with just plain false, confused, jumping to conclusions, baseless (or making baseless accusations), spiteful, malicious, mean-spirited, or (if you think someone else is influencing them) being duped.

In a communication to a court officer, you do NOT want to appear angry or spiteful, even if you are. This is why lawyer talk sounds so slippery and hollow. It still applies, though, and if the court officer has any say in the matter, they will judge the mean-spirited person more harshly.

If you have access to any kind of legal counsel, I'd definitely run it past them first. If you work in an office, there is frequently someone around who has a law degree and may find it gratifying that you asked for help (or not, depending on the person). A lot of people are members of some organization or other that they may not even realize provides some kind of legal service. Or just get an attorney, at which point THEY should be drafting any letters. This is an expensive option, however, but cheaper than insult, injury, and dishonor (in my opinion).

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    The honoraria of an attorney would be cheap when compared with a a fatal mistake with the court. Particularly if they just need to check your letter, it would be perfectly affordable. If they had to represent you in court, it would be more expensive (albeit still better than losing for a technicality), but there's a good chance for the neighbour to end up paying the cost of OP lawyer .
    – Ángel
    Commented Oct 16, 2020 at 22:28
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    Over here it's called a small claims tribunal (for claims under $5000) where you're typically expected to represent yourself unless both parties agree to have lawyers. But getting the letter checked by a lawyer before submitting is indeed a great advice.
    – MLu
    Commented Oct 16, 2020 at 23:43
  • @MLu Intimidation can go both ways. If your accuser knows you have a lawyer, it means you are either serious about winning, or that they've overplayed their hand and you're taking it to the next level. A lawyer also means you might not be willing to settle in small claims, and they would have to take it even further. How bad do they want it? How determined are you? Either way, the details are best discussed with a lawyer.
    – DWKraus
    Commented Oct 17, 2020 at 0:06

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