Comments on: Sue... this!

Question: Sue... this!

cedar — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 18:19:22 -0800

Is an email "Cease and Desist" letter a legal notification? I have been under the impression that a piece of paper, duly sworn, sweared and served was required. New York, civil matter. Yes, I know your not my lawyer.

By: delmoi

delmoi — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 18:52:32 -0800

Hincandenza: I'm reading the question and it dosn't say "What irritates you about about ask me legal questions" It says "Is being served via email a legally valid method of being served."

cedar: look up New York's rules of court procedures. They'll have a definition of what constitutes valid legal service. I know in Iowa a regular postal letter is valid, but email is not.

That said, a C&D is not actually part of the legal process, so honestly it doesn't matter if it's valid service or not. They can sue you without ever sending a C&D. A C&D is just a courtesy and an opportunity to stop whatever your doing without them going through the hassle and expense of hiring an attorney, suing you, and getting a court order to stop.

By: bim

bim — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 18:52:43 -0800

I've have read numerous things lately on the growth of cease and desist stuff -- often unjustified. I am guessing this is because of something on a website.

The Chilling Effects Clearinghouse will give you a good start on the topic. If I find the other references that I though I bookmarked, I'll post them too.

By: bim

bim — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 18:55:14 -0800

Here's another great site from some folks at the NYU law school.

By: delmoi

delmoi — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 18:56:50 -0800

my friend was sent a C&D via email, and they ended up sending him a regular letter anyway.

By: bim

bim — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 19:08:39 -0800

Well said, delmoi.

Folks should be sure and read this "priceless" letter by the late Groucho Marx in response to a cease and desist situation. :>

By: megatherium

megatherium — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 19:58:41 -0800

IAAL. And I see this as a general question, not as one from someone who just received a notice and wants free advice on what to do.

Filing a lawsuit requires that a formal complaint be filed with the court having jurisdiction, and the issuance of a summons from that court requiring a formal written answer be filed within approximately a month, else the requested relief will be granted by default.

A "cease and desist" letter is essentially an informal notice that tells the recipient that the sender will or may avail himself of the formal procedures described above if the offending behavior does not cease. It is very often an intimidation technique - the letter comes from a large and well-heeled law firm, and the clear message is "I've got power on my side, and I can buy that power with money, and you don't want to fuck with me."

Very often it works, usually because the recipient is not particularly well-heeled.

By: megatherium

megatherium — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 20:05:55 -0800

And I guess I forgot the most important point - since a C&D notice is informal, it can take any form. A letter is customary because it can be marked as an exhibit in a later lawsuit, and if needed can be enlarged to a 36x48-inch display.

By: caddis

caddis — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 21:43:03 -0800

The mere fact that you asked such a question is clear evidence of your need for competent legal representation in this matter. Get a lawyer and good luck to you.

By: drstein

drstein — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 22:28:38 -0800

I got a C&D letter from a legal firm via email once. One of my users was hosting something he shouldn't have. I had the user remove the offending stuff ASAP and wrote the lawyers back informing them of the outcome. They simply replied with "Ok, thank you!" and that was the last I ever heard of it.

By: TheRaven

TheRaven — Tue, 11 Apr 2006 04:55:08 -0800

The best response to a C & D letter was Private Eye's.

By: JJ86

JJ86 — Tue, 11 Apr 2006 06:35:33 -0800

I want you to Cease and Desist posting threads asking for legal opinions from people who are not Lawyers!

Now do you think any court is going to take that seriously? If an email would suffice and BB postings would suffice, the world would be an extremely fucked up place. Legal forms require a certain type of format which is why you see all sorts of archaic wording in many legal documents such as "Herewith", "Henceforth", etc

By: bim

bim — Tue, 11 Apr 2006 06:52:26 -0800

Support your local trial lawyers association. They need the money!

By: caddis

caddis — Tue, 11 Apr 2006 07:46:49 -0800

Now do you think any court is going to take that seriously? If an email would suffice and BB postings would suffice, the world would be an extremely fucked up place. Legal forms require a certain type of format which is why you see all sorts of archaic wording in many legal documents such as "Herewith", "Henceforth", etc

Suffice for what, or is your post just a big joke waiting to be deleted?

By: delmoi

delmoi — Tue, 11 Apr 2006 18:43:26 -0800

Now do you think any court is going to take that seriously? If an email would suffice and BB postings would suffice, the world would be an extremely fucked up place. Legal forms require a certain type of format which is why you see all sorts of archaic wording in many legal documents such as "Herewith", "Henceforth", etc

It doesn't matter if the courts take them seriously or not, that's the whole point. C&Ds are just for politeness/saving money. They carry no weight in court.