Sometimes You Can Talk Your Way Out of Litigation
A call I received yesterday illustrated a common mistake made by business owners; one that I want to pass along so you can avoid making the same mistake.
First let me set the scene. When a client comes to an attorney to complain about something, it will always be the case that the attorney takes whatever first step he or she chooses to take based only on one side of the story. In this particular case, a client came to me complaining that someone had posted comments on a blog that defamed his company. I reviewed the blog and the comments certainly were defamatory, if they were false as my client assured me they were.
So, I sent a strongly worded cease and desist letter to the blogger, informing him that I had been instructed to bring an action for defamation, and suggesting that he take down the comments as a way to minimize his damages. But since I am aware that I have heard only one side of the story, I always end such letters with the following statement: "If I have in any way misstated the facts, or there are any other facts of which you think I should be aware, please call or write me immediately."
Within ten minutes of faxing the letter, the blogger called me. But instead of using the opportunity to explain why the statements did not amount to defamation or, if they did, to offer some way to undue the damage he had done, his first screamed statement was, "How could you send a letter like this when you have only heard one side of the story?"
Exactly, dear caller, and that is why the letter invited you to call me with your side. Instead, he immediately went to the usual posturing about how he was going to make sure I was disbarred, drawn and quartered for threatening such a frivolous action, but without ever telling me what made the action frivolous. I served him with the complaint the following day, and once again the action will ultimately end as I have explained here. (He did, however, take down the blog posting.)
Admittedly, a lot of attorneys won’t care what you have to say, and may not care if the action is without merit if they think they can make a buck off the representation. But don’t assume that going in, if you really do have facts to show that the attorney was misinformed.
In one case, for example, a client informed me that he was owed a large sum of money from a former employer for commissions on products sold prior to his termination. In response to my demand letter, the President of the company called to explain why the commissions were not owed, and then sent irrefutable documentation to support his claim. When I showed the documentation to the client, he acknowledged the facts and the terms of the agreement, but said he had hoped I would find someway around that reality as the action proceeded. I took the matter no further, and by spending a few minutes responding to me, the President saved his company a lot of unnecessary litigation.
You must proceed with caution when responding to a demand letter, because the attorney may later try to twist your words to claim you somehow admitted to the wrongdoing. For that reason, you might want to make your response through an attorney. We know the magic words that can keep the response from ever being used against you. But don’t immediately reject the thought of actually responding to an attorney’s letter, and if the facts are on your side, tell your attorney to provide a thoughtful, civil response so that the other attorney won’t feel compelled prove who is boss.
