Ronald F Guilmette <rfg@monkeys.com> writes:
> Trust me on this. Once someone makes a legal threat, even if the odds
> are very very high that it is utterly bogus (as it is in this case) you
> _must_ totally disengage from that person and direct all further
> correspondance to your attorney. But keep in mind that it is NOT your
> responsibility to tell the jerk who your attorney is. If he wants to be
> a prick, let him go and do his own research.
(Note disclaimer: I am not a lawyer.)
I'd like to second this. I've had people threaten to sue me before over
Usenet newsgroup creation issues, but they don't realize the way the law
works.
First, if he sues you, it's a civil complaint. That means that *all* of
the cost, hassle, research, discovery, and so forth are born by him. He
gets to pay every last cent of it up until he gets a judgement against you
(which is highly unlikely). The absolute *most* he can do is waste your
time or make you retain a lawyer.
Second, you are not required to provide him with ANYTHING. And I mean
*ANYTHING*. You are not required to talk to him. You are not required to
give him contact information. You are not required to tell him where you
work, where you live, what state you are in, what *country* you are in,
who your lawyer is, how to contact you, how to serve you, or anything else
of the sort. What Ron said is precisely accurate; don't say another word
to him anywhere, anytime.
You are, furthermore, not required to talk to his lawyer either. With
precisely the same parameters.
This is a civil complaint. As such, there is absolutely *nothing* you
have to do for him until he manages to get a court to send you official
papers, and the process involved in doing that involves untold hassle and
expense on his part, far more than enough to scare off all but the most
psychotic and dedicated assholes.
And, as an unexpected bonus, if you tell him you are no longer talking to
him due to the fact that he's mentioning legal action and specifically
tell him you are not interested in any further correspondence with him,
and he then attempts to continue contacting you, not only is he
potentially compromising his own case, you can make a case against him for
harassment if the need arises.
--
Russ Allbery (rra@stanford.edu) <URL:http://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/>
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