Jump to content

looking for legal help when dealing with a lawsuit


smokin5s
 Share

Recommended Posts

To make a story as short as possible, my wife, my daughters, and her mother went to a restaurant last month. The appetizer was bad, they asked for it to be removed from the order and all hell broke loose between them and the owner. The owner ended up striking my wife in the face with his elbow (he claimed it to be him pointing at the front door telling her to get out) He was all in her face, he told my daughter to, "shut the fuck up" and to, "waddle her fat ass out of the restaurant". My wife called the cops, he ended up taking pictures of her car and dancing in front of the door mocking her while they waited on the cops. The cops showed up, reviewed the footage, said there wasn't enough evidence to do much and "there is no law against being an asshole" but recommended that we post a review online explaining what happened.

 

I get home and do so on google and on facebook where it was shared a bunch of times.

 

 

Fast forward to today, I receive a certified letter in the mail from his lawyer with him threatening to sue me for loss of business and defamation saying we lied about everything saying that we accused him of not refunding the money for the appetizer (I never said he didn't refund the money just that it was started because of it) and that we accused him of bodily harm and cussing. He absolutely cussed out my daughter as well as hit my wife with his elbow. I never said he caused her harm but that he struck her in the face with his elbow and that he claimed to the police that he was pointing towards the door.

 

What are my legal options and does anyone know of a good lawyer that isn't going to make me go bankrupt. Part of me says delete the posts and move on, but the other part says you can't allow this guy to keep bullying people and just because he has the funds for a lawyer that he should get away with it. What would you do? This guy has a wife and children of his own, he should know better than to treat people like that and I think his actions need to be made aware to the local community.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nothing I say here constitutes legal advice for the purposes of establishing an attorney client relationship. We are just two guys talking.

 

What does the letter ask for?

 

Scare letters are an unfortunate part of the practice of law. Reguardless as to whether they are unethical, they are almost always sent as evidence of an attempt to work out a resolution outside of court. Personally I don’t find them particularly effective since bullying rarely gets results and they are often the last refuge of someone who just wants to inflict pain without having any legal teeth to pursue action. I have to ask, have you checked to see if the law firm is real? I have seen bad clients in the past who have used their attorney’s stationary or made up fake law firms to send things their attorney would never send, it might not be a bad idea to confirm that the firm is real and the letter was in fact sent from any attorney at that firm.

 

You mentioned footage that the police reviewed, who has that footage? Does it include some of the things the letter claims are defamatory (like the restaurant owner striking your wife)?

 

Honestly, my advice is to calm down about it and not worry. The way to protect yourself is to get a file folder and collect every piece of evidence relating to that night (the footage, any written accounts of what happened, details like the officers name, etc...). There really isn’t much you can do until he actually files suit other than collect as much evidence as you can.

 

One thing that should make you feel better is very very few online defamation suits are successful and that acts as a deterrent. Sending you a big blustery letter might be all he can do because of the expense and the slim chance of going further.

 

One thing I would recommend is to contact Facebook and explain the situation. If he were to sue you for defamation Facebook would likely be named and they don’t want that, alerting them to the situation aligns their interest with yours and they may suspend his account or otherwise take action.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

maybe it's because I'm not a member of reddit, but I don't see anything that pertains to my issue.

 

Oh, I was implying that you should ask that sub-reddit for advice. you can make a post and they get back to you real quick. good advice. Won my friend in college some cash in a settlement because she asked Reddit for help when she was hit by a car at a crosswalk.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So they sent you a letter THREATENING to sue? Was there an ultimatum attached? "we'll sue you unless you remove all social media posts etc...." ?

 

If not, who cares?

 

And if so you could call their bluff. As mentioned before, online defamation lawsuits aren't very successful so I would question if they really want to spend the time and money on it?

 

Just curious, were there other bad reviews also? Anything remotely similar to your experience? Such as the owner being a complete asshole? I too would like to know the restaurant, not to contact them of course but to look up their social media reviews.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Scare letters are an unfortunate part of the practice of law. Reguardless as to whether they are unethical, they are almost always sent as evidence of an attempt to work out a resolution outside of court. Personally I don’t find them particularly effective since bullying rarely gets results and they are often the last refuge of someone who just wants to inflict pain without having any legal teeth to pursue action.

 

So they sent you a letter THREATENING to sue? Was there an ultimatum attached? "we'll sue you unless you remove all social media posts etc...." ?

 

If not, who cares?

 

And if so you could call their bluff. As mentioned before, online defamation lawsuits aren't very successful so I would question if they really want to spend the time and money on it?

 

Agreed with these guys. Sounds like he's just being a salty little pusscake, trying to scare you into deleting those reviews because he doesn't want the negative attention. Fuck that guy, he won't do shit. I wouldn't worry about it at all.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So they sent you a letter THREATENING to sue? Was there an ultimatum attached? "we'll sue you unless you remove all social media posts etc...." ?

 

If not, who cares?

 

And if so you could call their bluff. As mentioned before, online defamation lawsuits aren't very successful so I would question if they really want to spend the time and money on it?

 

Just curious, were there other bad reviews also? Anything remotely similar to your experience? Such as the owner being a complete asshole? I too would like to know the restaurant, not to contact them of course but to look up their social media reviews.

Ya, pretty much just says, take it down immediately or we will sue you... blah blah blah.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh, I was implying that you should ask that sub-reddit for advice. you can make a post and they get back to you real quick. good advice. Won my friend in college some cash in a settlement because she asked Reddit for help when she was hit by a car at a crosswalk.

Good call! Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Agreed with these guys. Sounds like he's just being a salty little pusscake, trying to scare you into deleting those reviews because he doesn't want the negative attention. Fuck that guy, he won't do shit. I wouldn't worry about it at all.

Anyone who would tell an overweight teenage girl to "shut the fuck up" and "waddle your fat ass out the door" is a salty pussy cake.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Kudos to you sir for keeping your cool and not overreacting. I'm afraid my wife and daughter would have been bailing me out of jail.

I'm with Kerry, so far it's just scare tactics, I wouldn't take anything down and would maybe consider calling another media outlet if it continues. Sometimes it's hard to decide between something not being worth the time, and continuing the fight. If the question is there, then you may have already answered it.

 

Oh, and post this guys info so CR can boycott it!!

 

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What is your aim at this point ?

 

I think to get a apology and satisfaction for your wife and daughter I would also suggest calling a media outlet like 6 on your side.That would put the fear of god in him and "force" him to appease you in some way,the last thing he wants is his restaurant splashed on tv.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wouldn't take anything down and would maybe consider calling another media outlet if it continues

 

I would also suggest calling a media outlet like 6 on your side.That would put the fear of god in him and "force" him to appease you in some way,the last thing he wants is his restaurant splashed on tv.

 

These guys are right. The more I think about this, the more it pisses me off. This fucking guy is a business owner first of all, it's bad enough that he would treat his customers in such a way, and then on top of that has the gall to threaten you over a bad review? No way, fuck that, game on bitch. The moment he threatened legal action should be the moment you escalate it further and ruin this cock sucker's reputation. His pussy little letter needs to backfire right in his stupid fucking face. Social media, local news, whatever it takes....spread the word to ensure he gets his comeuppance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What is your aim at this point ?

 

I think to get a apology and satisfaction for your wife and daughter I would also suggest calling a media outlet like 6 on your side.That would put the fear of god in him and "force" him to appease you in some way,the last thing he wants is his restaurant splashed on tv.

honestly my only goal has been to let people know what happened there and him be forced to grow up. We aren't looking for an apology, compensation, etc... never have.

 

As far as Media, it was shared with ABC6 and Tom Sousy when it first happened. The reality is, I can't afford legal fees so I need to protect my family and make sure he can't come back and sue us.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is it weird that I think a "salty pussy cake" sounds delicious?

 

Josh, I got your email, I will respond tonight.

cool, you're a busy guy... I get it.

 

and clean pussy cake sounds way more delicious than salty pussy cake

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Kudos to you sir for keeping your cool and not overreacting. I'm afraid my wife and daughter would have been bailing me out of jail.

I'm with Kerry, so far it's just scare tactics, I wouldn't take anything down and would maybe consider calling another media outlet if it continues. Sometimes it's hard to decide between something not being worth the time, and continuing the fight. If the question is there, then you may have already answered it.

 

Oh, and post this guys info so CR can boycott it!!

 

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

agreed... it's a battle if it's worth continuing or not. Part of me feels that I've already posted it, people have read it and he read it. Problem is, if we take it down then he thinks he won and that in his mind he feels he did nothing wrong which is an unacceptable answer. But I also don't have a minimum of 10k for legal fees to fight a legal battle with him either.

 

as far as his info, I'm battling if I should let you guys know his info. The fact is, CR is a very large forum and he might have friends who are on here and then it's pushing the legal battle even farther if that makes sense.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This dude touched your wife's face, and you didn't file an assault case? Not sure what the statute of limitations are, but that may be an option for a "free" offensive. I bet a young hot shot attorney would take that pro-bono if they felt the case was strong enough.

 

Your wife get any info for 3rd party witnesses?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...