Do I have a LAWSUIT here?

[Chester_Copperpot]

In 1994 I was charged with "criminal mischief" when I was with a friend (accomplice) who lit a dorm room trash can on fire, however, if you would look my name up on one of those "criminal background" sites it will say that I am a FELON, which is far from the truth. Every time I move or a background check is done for whatever reason I have to present the party with "proof" which I just have gotten used to keeping in my car or readily available, however, with this current status of "FELON" I also receive rude/uncomfortable/"I'm scared of you"/"you're a felon" kind of outlooks. All that causes this is the databases on these "criminal background" websites. The county that charged me for "criminal mischief" gave these sites my info. This is defamation of character along with some other shit. Do I have a lawsuit?

 

[WODIN]

I'd sue.

 

[gettinlarger]

Sounds like lawsuit ground to me. Do it.

 

[slickdadd]

I'd poo

 

[beastboy]

Probably not.

 

[gettinlarger]

I'd sew.

You would ...

Fruit.

 

[Chester_Copperpot]

I could contact the county and just have it changed but I believe I'll let my lawyer decide which is best.

 

[Bullit]

I'd sew.

 

[WODIN]

I could contact the county and just have it changed but I believe I'll let my lawyer decide which is best.

Plus your lawyer is motived to makes some $$$ .

 

[Chester_Copperpot]

Plus your lawyer is motived to makes some $$$ .

Exactly sir!

Just have to see what he says is possible. peace

 

[MattTheSkywalker]

How about those Mavericks? I do believe they'll take it all the way.

 

[Chester_Copperpot]

How about those Mavericks? I do believe they'll take it all the way.

Oh that's it Matthew!

Go back to your catatonic cubby hole where the only thing you're proud of is the 8 inch cornrow you did on your mother's happy trail.

 

[primetime21]

I could contact the county and just have it changed but I believe I'll let my lawyer decide which is best.

this happened 10 years ago. you didnt do anything during that time to correct the matter?

In terms of suing there are issues of statute of limitation problems since you waited so long to do something. You cant get injured and then sue 50 years later.

I would have your attorney contact the county to get the record modified. However, i doubt you have much a of a lawsuit. You may end up wasting money on attorneys fees. Suing on the groudns of defamation of character are near impossible. And damages are hard to calculate.

 

[Chester_Copperpot]

this happened 10 years ago. you didnt do anything during that time to correct the matter?

In terms of suing there are issues of statute of limitation problems since you waited so long to do something. You cant get injured and then sue 50 years later.

I would have your attorney contact the county to get the record modified. However, i doubt you have much a of a lawsuit. You may end up wasting money on attorneys fees. Suing on the groudns of defamation of character are near impossible. And damages are hard to calculate.

Very good, however, I was only notified of this 6 months ago when a background check was done on me to approve an apartment application.

 

[2Thick]

How about getting your record expunged and having no record for people people to look up?

http://www.nolo.com/lawcenter/ency/...984/catID/428413CA-3B6B-48E3-B69FDF80F4D8E95D

As long as you have stayed out of trouble, you should qualify.

Plus, you can tell people you never had a record.

 

[spike1205]

as for the statute of limitations thing it may have "tolled" it would depend on when you first discovered the defamation

further is criminal mischief a felony in that county or state?

 

[Chester_Copperpot]

How about getting your record expunged and having no record for people people to look up?

http://www.nolo.com/lawcenter/ency/...984/catID/428413CA-3B6B-48E3-B69FDF80F4D8E95D

As long as you have stayed out of trouble, you should qualify.

Plus, you can tell people you never had a record.

Thanks 2Thick, my lawyer in 94 told me about 6 months ago that he would expunge it for $650, I said "what a rip" and he was supposed to do that in the first place after I paid him $5000 in 94, but the link is appreciated.

 

[Chester_Copperpot]

as for the statute of limitations thing it may have "tolled" it would depend on when you first discovered the defamation

further is criminal mischief a felony in that county or state?

It's a misdeamanor!

 

[primetime21]

Not sure what the laws of his state are, however, the statute of limitations is not normally tolled on a defamation case because the party didnt discover the defamation. However, you can ask your lawyer about something known as "single publication" rule. If that rule does NOT apply in your state you may be able to say that each and every time a person was notified of the "felony" it was a distinct offense that was actionable. That would "toll" the statute of limitations for you. But i think most, if not all, states use the "single publication rule" so it probably wouldnt work.

I have no problems with you trying to sue, i am just letting you know that you may not even be able to get into court, and even if you do, winning a case like that is a lot harder than your run of the mill contract case. It would cost plenty of money to fight and the only person that may end up with lots of money could be your lawyer.

Perhaps you have a better lawsuit against your former atty for malpractice. Maybe if you threatened him with malpractice he wont charge you. I know the term malpractice would freak out most attorneys. You can also tell him that you are contemplating reporting him to the state bar association.

good luck.

 

[Chester_Copperpot]

Not sure what the laws of his state are, however, the statute of limitations is not normally tolled on a defamation case because the party didnt discover the defamation. However, you can ask your lawyer about something known as "single publication" rule. If that rule does NOT apply in your state you may be able to say that each and every time a person was notified of the "felony" it was a distinct offense that was actionable. That would "toll" the statute of limitations for you. But i think most, if not all, states use the "single publication rule" so it probably wouldnt work.

I have no problems with you trying to sue, i am just letting you know that you may not even be able to get into court, and even if you do, winning a case like that is a lot harder than your run of the mill contract case. It would cost plenty of money to fight and the only person that may end up with lots of money could be your lawyer.

Perhaps you have a better lawsuit against your former atty for malpractice. Maybe if you threatened him with malpractice he wont charge you. I know the term malpractice would freak out most attorneys. You can also tell him that you are contemplating reporting him to the state bar association.

good luck.

Thanks, I appreciate your time!

 

[ffknight84]

edit: some people dont like my honset opinions, so ive deleted the original post in place of this, good day

 

[Chester_Copperpot]

ummm, you got charged with criminal mischief because you were with your friend who lit a dorm room trash can on fire. Although you are not a felon, at least i think not. I must say you are a DUMBASS for being there and getting caught. You dont deserve felon status, Id get a layer and have that taken care of, if you go in there respectfully and serious with a lawyer youll probably get it taken care of. my $.02

if you knew it was wrong then you should have stopped him, or left. Im not saying im perfect, but I have never been caught doing anything like that [ knocks on wood ]. I was almost charged with underage drinking cause i had to take a girl back to a party who left her purse there and the cops had busted it. Luckily i was dry AND I knew them or i would have been.

Not that this matters but we were under the influence, the fact that I lost a "full ride" scholarship let me know that it was not the smartest thing to do, you have not a clue about the circumstances that were presented.
One more whelp out of you and I'll tie your three fingered left hand to the laces on the worn, splitsole converse hightop on your right foot, pull your Poison wifebeater up over your mascara running eyelids, duct tape a festive bow to the squeaky bald spot on the side of your sideways head, and send the entire gay package to the salvation army as a belated Christmas donation for the homosexual underclass, be gone bitch o mine!

 

[joack]

Re tolling: From what I recall, every time the defamatory statement is published it will create another more recent injury. Therefore the s.o.l has not tolled since he just found out about a the defamatory statement recently.

You should try to rectify the situation yourself and perhaps save some money. Otherwise, hire an attorney usually a stern letter suggesting a possible lawsuit for defamation from him or her will suffice. If this is a government entity who is publishing the info. ask him/her about government immunity and if its applicable under these circumstances. This would be a concern only if you really wanted to sue for damages (which you would have to prove). Otherwise, just get your info corrected in their database with a letter from an esq.

 

[SofaGeorge]

It would cost you about $200,000 to get the case to the point of trial... and another $250,000 to try the case. Opposition would take one look at your financial records and laugh themselves silly.

No lawyer would take a case like this on contingency. There isn't any collectable settlement to speak of.

Could you sue? Yes. You can sue any time you want to about anything.

Would you get anywhere? No.

 

[beefybull]

No lawyer would take a case like this on contingency. There isn't any collectable settlement to speak of.

Could you sue? Yes. You can sue any time you want to about anything.

Would you get anywhere? No.

Are you sure??

Now normally I think that America is too sue happy. You see that type of stuff all the time, people suing frivolously over nothing, or b/c of a hair in their fries, or weird shit such as that.

However, this is a case where a man's good reputation is potentially at stake because at any time a co-worker or business contact could potentially look that up. In this case, I'd say "go for the gold my friend". A $250,000 check from the govt for your damages and stress that their error caused you sounds pretty nice. That'll buy a lot of steaks.

 

[beefybull]

Generally, a statement is defamatory if it tends to harm the reputation of another in such a way that the person is lowered in the estimation of the community; others are deterred from associating with him or her; or he or she is exposed to public hatred, contempt, or ridicule.

Defamation can occur in one of two forms: libel or slander. Basically, libel is defamation expressed in written or graphic form, while slander is defamation expressed in an oral statement.

For either type of defamation to result in legal action, the statement at issue must have been "published." "Publication" means to communicate orally, in writing, or in print, to some third person capable of understanding the communicationís defamatory import, and in such a way that the third person did in fact understand it.

Further, to sustain an action for libel or slander, the communication must be false. Remember, truth is a complete defense to a defamation action. If a printed or spoken statement is true, then a defamation suit based on that statement would fail. Also note that a defamation action must be brought within one year of the date on which the alleged defamation occurs.

 

[primetime21]

Generally, a statement is defamatory if it tends to harm the reputation of another in such a way that the person is lowered in the estimation of the community; others are deterred from associating with him or her; or he or she is exposed to public hatred, contempt, or ridicule.

Defamation can occur in one of two forms: libel or slander. Basically, libel is defamation expressed in written or graphic form, while slander is defamation expressed in an oral statement.

For either type of defamation to result in legal action, the statement at issue must have been "published." "Publication" means to communicate orally, in writing, or in print, to some third person capable of understanding the communicationís defamatory import, and in such a way that the third person did in fact understand it.

Further, to sustain an action for libel or slander, the communication must be false. Remember, truth is a complete defense to a defamation action. If a printed or spoken statement is true, then a defamation suit based on that statement would fail. Also note that a defamation action must be brought within one year of the date on which the alleged defamation occurs.

You broke down the law fairly well. However, every state interprets the law differently. There is NO uniform rule for suits based on defamation. Further, there is certainly no uniform law for the statute of limitations on a defamation action.

 

[ffknight84]

cvestor did you read my whole post or did you just read the dumbass, because i actually tried to give some advice. But im not a layer and im editing my post because u r a prick.

 

[Outtlaw]

In the U.S. you always have a case for a lawsuit, no matter how absurd or stupid it is.

 

[Chester_Copperpot]

It would cost you about $200,000 to get the case to the point of trial... and another $250,000 to try the case. Opposition would take one look at your financial records and laugh themselves silly.

No lawyer would take a case like this on contingency. There isn't any collectable settlement to speak of.

Could you sue? Yes. You can sue any time you want to about anything.

Would you get anywhere? No.

Actually, they would look at my financial records and wonder how a 26 year old has more savings than folks over the age of 50 + who have been working all their lives and see an outstanding performance history. They would actually be like "damn this kid has his shiznite together".


Thanks for the input elite.

 

[guards]

If it was 10 years ago, the BEST thing to do would be to attempt to get a pardon