Can I Get A Cease and Desist Letter for commenting on a Facebook post?

[MISHIGA95]

Jurisdiction

California

An old Facebook friend was going through a rough divorce. His ex- started messaging me on Facebook when she saw I'd commented on things he had posted (My stepson has a nightmare of a biological mother, so I can relate). She wanted me to know "the truth" about her ex - saying all these horrible things about HIM, defaming HIS character. I told her that for her to be randomly contacting people on facebook to give intimate relationship details seemed really unstable and insane. I barely know this guy, and now I have his ex BLOWING up my FB messenger with lengthy monologues. I have no dog in this fight, but he recently posted about some crazy stuff she did and I remarked that when she started emailing me, it was nuts. I blocked her, but a few of his friends said that she started creating fake profiles to follow people who had blocked her. I unblocked her for literally 1 minute - curious to see if I was still on her radar. And then this pops up (all information has been omitted to maintain confidentiality) - is this for real? Can you really get a cease and desist letter for talking about something that totally DID happen (and I have proof of it)? Do I call her lawyer or just ignore this? She's sending this to my job!

 

[ElleMD]

Just block her and be done.

 

[MISHIGA95]

Just block her and be done.

Did it, but this letter is addressed to me at my work

 

[hrforme]

Block her and don't accept friend requests from people you don't know. If it's addressed to you and you have others opening your mail, ask them to ignore it or to pass any attorney communications to you without opening them.

 

[army judge]

Did it, but this letter is addressed to me at my work

I'm a lawyer, admitted to the bar upon graduation decades ago, and in good standing in several state bars, as well as the federal bar; in addition to Australia's ACT, NSW, and NT.

The letter might be fake.

Before you get too deeply invested in fake law, along with fake news LOL, check here to see if the redacted author's name is admitted to practice law in CA.
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Attorney Admission - Home
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Did the letter's author sign his/her name with the suffix "ESQ"?

Does the author's "BAR NUMBER" appear anywhere on the letter?

Even if he/she is a licensed CA attorney, it's a request designed to intimidate someone.

As long as you don't engage in what the letter alleges, you're free to post anything you wish.

Frankly, this is another nothing burger.

Based upon your recitation of events, I see nothing that would rise to a level such that you could be successfully sued for "libel per se".

To AVOID being accused of libel, you simply resort to pseudonyms, cartoon characters, and avoid gender based pronouns.

I prefer to use IT, (some thing descriptors) CRITTER, CREATURE, BEAST, DEVIL, IMP, (mythical creatures) DRAGON, BIG FOOT, YETTI, GHOST, DEMON, CHUPACABRA, (animals) GOAT, RAM, DOE, BITCH, HEN, COW, BULL, BILLY, NANNY, ROOSTER, GANDER, MONKEY, CHIMP, CATFISH, sometimes attaching a medical infirmity to the "name" RABID BITCH, RABID SKUNK, INSANE MONKEY, FLATULENT STALLION, etc...

Avoid at all costs surnames, even first names....

 

[leslie82]

An old Facebook friend was going through a rough divorce. His ex- started messaging me on Facebook when she saw I'd commented on things he had posted (My stepson has a nightmare of a biological mother, so I can relate). She wanted me to know "the truth" about her ex - saying all these horrible things about HIM, defaming HIS character. I told her that for her to be randomly contacting people on facebook to give intimate relationship details seemed really unstable and insane. I barely know this guy, and now I have his ex BLOWING up my FB messenger with lengthy monologues. I have no dog in this fight, but he recently posted about some crazy stuff she did and I remarked that when she started emailing me, it was nuts. I blocked her, but a few of his friends said that she started creating fake profiles to follow people who had blocked her. I unblocked her for literally 1 minute - curious to see if I was still on her radar. And then this pops up (all information has been omitted to maintain confidentiality) - is this for real? Can you really get a cease and desist letter for talking about something that totally DID happen (and I have proof of it)? Do I call her lawyer or just ignore this? She's sending this to my job!

Why are you entertaining her? Block her. Problem solved. Who cares if she makes fake profiles? Report them as fake and block them.

Tell your job she's some mentally unstable person.

 

[zddoodah]

is this for real? Can you really get a cease and desist letter for talking about something that totally DID happen

At the risk of stating the obvious, you DID get the letter, so it should be obvious that you CAN get such a letter. I would think it would go without saying that the story this other person told the lawyer who sent the letter is very different from the story you've told here. And yes, the person who sent the letter IS a lawyer, who is active and in good standing with the State Bar (if you enlarge the attachment sufficiently, you can get the lawyer's name from the seal at the upper-right corner of the letter).

Do I call her lawyer or just ignore this?

That's for you to decide. The letter is asking that you cease and desist doing something that you claim never to have done. Therefore, if you continue not doing what you claim not to have done, you should have no issues. If I were you, I would discontinue all contact with this other person, block any avenues of contact, and refrain from saying ANYTHING about here to anyone (regardless of how tepid your comments might be).

She's sending this to my job!

You might want to contact the lawyer and ask that any future communication be directed to your home address.