Okay, it's about time that I tell you why I didn't sleep for four days.
You see, I was served on Saturday -- hand-delivered a notice that I had been sued, for a substantial amount of money.
Now I will tell you that the allegations were false, and it was a case of mistaken identity. Nonetheless, it was a very stressful situation, where I had to retain legal representation, contact the plaintiff, and prove my innocence in this matter.
It took a few days before I could receive a reply from the plaintiff. All the while, I had been wondering how they thought I was the guilty party in question, where they dug up my whereabouts, among other things. What I feared most, was what if I had been a victim of identity theft, and someone used my personal information to commit the crimes indicated in the Statement of Claim? These were examples of the thoughts that plagued my mind for endless hours on end.
Today, I received a letter in the mail from the plaintiff, absolving me of all charges. This has been one dark week -- one I'd like to forget. I shouldn't have to say that I am greatly relieved this ordeal is over.
I guess this means that nobody -- nobody is safe from legal prosecution. Even though we have computers, databases, records, and multiple failsafes to prevent a person from being accused of crimes they did not commit, mistakes still happen. Hopefully, I can get a wink or two of sleep over the holidays.
Happy Humbug to me.
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3 comments:
I can empathize with this situation. My husband was called as a witness to testify in a civil lawsuit between a homeowner he drew houseplans for & a contractor. He was on the stand for an afternoon, defending his work & credibility under oath. His business partner was there too, who didn't even have anything to do with the drawings.
It was a crazy situation. In the end the judge couldn't figure out why my husband had to be there (neither could we) but of course by that time we'd already lost time/money & been under stress for months because leading up to the court date were a number of legal meetings. It was ridiculous really.
It is true that I have grounds to counter-sue. However, according to my legal counsel, you have to give them one chance to admit that they were in error -- you can however, give them an ultimatum of 24 hours to correct the error, before you pursue a counter lawsuit.
Even that being said, I don't know if I have the gumption to go after a big law firm. Those attorneys have ways of dragging lawsuits on for years and years, racking up millions in expenses, as a means to bankrupt the opposition. If the opposition has no funds, the progress of the lawsuit flows like molasses.
There is no way I could finance a lawsuit for five years, just in hopes of earning a few bucks in a settlement. But if these guys screw up again, I may have no choice but to counter-sue.
Glad things turned out ok.
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