[jandji]

i get the distinct impression from this link, you know much more about legal doings than most people, but these aren't united states references.

[Devil_Anse]

Thanks for being nice about it, anyway. Check it out on google, though: no defamation action for someone who is dead!

Here--will Minnesota do? There's going to be both federal and state stuff. Also remember there is criminal and civil. You were talking about a personal injury (civil) suit, I recall.

http://216.239.53.100/search?q=cache:o4b4dIvTji8C:www.weblocator.com/attorney/mn/law/artentspo.html+defamation+dead+person+United+States&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

There would be other defenses to the suit you proposed. For example, truth of the statement is a defense. If the statement is clearly an opinion, then it's not made as a statement of fact--so, no defamation.