Defamation of Character

My step-daughter has recently re-married for a second time. She obviously has discussed how she feels about me to him. I’m the step dad and realize I have no legal rights in the state of NC in this matter. However, I took her biological mother to visit the grandchildren this past weekend. We were asked to stay at a hotel and had limited access to the grandchildren due to past conversations, emails / voicemails. My wife has physical limitations otherwise I would not even be making the trip. I know there are limited visitation rights for biological grandparents. However, is it fair for my wife to be punished with the grandchildren b/c of past emails / voicemails? We were held prisoners in a hotel room and were treated as if we were criminals, convicted felons or even as child molesters with limited time with our grandchildren. It would appear to me that defamation of character may play a huge part in our last visit. Please advise at your earliest convenience.

It seems like problem does not involve a legal issue. So far as I can tell there is no court order that requires you to stay in a hotel when you visit; this is just a demand that your stepdaughter is making. If you are wondering what grandparent rights are in North Carolina, consult our article: Grandparents and Custody.

What about the defamation of character issue. We had no transportation and were forced to stay there w/ no options to visit our grandchildren? I’m sure if was due to past emails or voicemails…

Defamation of character is not related to divorce, and is outside the scope of this forum. However, simply requiring you to stay in another hotel room and failing to provide transportation is not defamation. Defamation requires that someone make false statements about you, and then published those statements to a third party.