Libel/Defamation incident WITH written evidence

[abc123thatsme]

Disgruntled ex-client of mine has a history of threats and unreasonable behavior as well as law-enforcement run-ins. Harrasses my current clients with emails, but is fairly careful about what she says, meaning doesn't leave good evidence for defamation.

Recently, she created a fake email account, fake name, and wrote an email to a client of ours saying lots of clearly libelous things. The client recognized the BS and forwarded it to us. Fortunately the email also creates a fake story, very well satisfying the requirement that things be said, "that the perpetrator knows to be false". We then demanded the IP address from the email domain host. Voila! The fake email was created and used from her current known address.

Question: Now that I have good hard evidence, how best to proceed? I don't mind spending money if it gets the harassment to stop, but I know defamation lawsuits aren't cheap or easy in California. Is it a crime to create a fake persona for the purpose of defaming someone? Should I see if the DA will pursue this? Likely the DA already knows her (I've heard I'm not the only harassment target) and might be excited to take some action to reduce the nuisance.

Clearly, I do feel bad for her, and therapy is what she really needs, but a close 2nd would be just getting her to cease harassing me and my clients.

Any help or advice (and any questions) much appreciated. Thanks!

 

[ElleMD]

This is not message board material. This is get thee to a lawyer material. Stat.

 

[mightymoose]

This is a civil issue. The DA won't be involved.
One hurdle you will have is proving WHO sent the email. It seems you only have enough to show where it may have originated.
A good attorney can probably get results for you without going to court.

 

[abc123thatsme]

Thanks. I'm well versed in law. Unless the moderators deem my message unfit, I'll wait for an answer with more value here. You are correct that counsel is called for, and I will definitely have counsel. More than one opinion is always a good idea. That's why I'm here.

 

[abc123thatsme]

And to Mightymoose--thanks for the input. She would still need to defend herself by saying that someone jacked her wifi or something similar no? I would think this evidence would be strong enough to at least engage her in a need to prove her innocence. In this case the writing style matches hers and the details are far too specific to be anyone else, but I agree this could be an issue.

What would be my goal to avoid court? The attorney shows her the evidence and asks her nicely to stop harassing? I don't see it. I suspect real pain such as a filed complaint will be necessary. She has also now opened a similar business to ours, so maybe there's an unfair business practices complaint potential.

Are you sure it's not a crime to impersonate someone to file a fraudulent complaint? I guess it might not be. Criminal isn't my area of expertise. Thanks again.

 

[army judge]

Thanks. I'm well versed in law. Unless the moderators deem my message unfit, I'll wait for an answer with more value here. You are correct that counsel is called for, and I will definitely have counsel. More than one opinion is always a good idea. That's why I'm here.

Please, don't flame or comment negatively on the opinions of others.
Please learn to ignore and withhold comment on posts NOT to your liking.
Everyone is encouraged to post his or her opinion.
Please don't evaluate the opinions of others.
This isn't Harvard B School, or UMICH LAW.

 

[abc123thatsme]

Noted--please feel free to delete that post. I've looked and I'm not sure how to delete it. Sorry.

 

[mightymoose]

She would still need to defend herself by saying that someone jacked her wifi or something similar no?

No. It would be your burden to prove your assertions. She would not be obligated to respond in any way if you don't provide sufficient evidence.

What would be my goal to avoid court?

The goal is to change/stop behavior that is causing you trouble. It might make you feel better to make it sting with some sort of fine, but it is more hassle than it is worth. There are simpler and less costly ways to resolve it.

Are you sure it's not a crime to impersonate someone to file a fraudulent complaint?

With the information you have provided I don't see it. Again, you run in to the problem if proving who sent the messages anyway.

Besides it being a nuisance, what damages have you experienced as a result of this? The less your damages are the more reason you have to resolve this outside of court.

 

[abc123thatsme]

That's an interesting perspective. It cost us at least one contract in the $150k range, which is what I'll file in my civil complaint. I'll have to look more carefully at the case law. I strongly suspect a subpoena response (which is what we now have) showing the ip address originated at her home, and wrote that email from a modem at her home, combined with the details of the email being consistent with someone familiar with the business but lying, combined with whatever testimony we'll get from her when we depose her will be sufficient to force her to refute our evidence (which she won't be able to). Happy to update on the outcome of the case if there's interest from those on the boards.

Certainly your advice is good, and we would settle out of court if we thought we were dealing with a mentally healthy or reasonable individual.

 

[army judge]

That's an interesting perspective. It cost us at least one contract in the $150k range, which is what I'll file in my civil complaint. I'll have to look more carefully at the case law. I strongly suspect a subpoena response (which is what we now have) showing the ip address originated at her home, and wrote that email from a modem at her home, combined with the details of the email being consistent with someone familiar with the business but lying, combined with whatever testimony we'll get from her when we depose her will be sufficient to force her to refute our evidence (which she won't be able to). Happy to update on the outcome of the case if there's interest from those on the boards.

Certainly your advice is good, and we would settle out of court if we thought we were dealing with a mentally healthy or reasonable individual.

Your conclusions are sound, but there's one loophole.
Yes, you can prove that a specific IP address is located at a certain address, or attached to a certain account.
The issue would be proving the IP address wasn't hacked, or that some individual other than your suspected miscreant isn't responsible for the dirty deed.
That, my friend, is the great difficulty in pursuing these cases civilly.
The feds even have trouble tying Joe's fingers to what appears to have come from Joe's IP address.