Can I successfully sue someone for being an accomplice

[CdwJava]

Okay, understand that if you want to sue you not only have to have grounds AND damages, you will also need to come up with about $20,000 on the low end. How much are you willing to put on the table just to roll the dice and hope that MAYBE you might get your attorney's fees back. Fee waivers are a very small portion of the total cost.

And if you try to sue in Superior Court pro se, understand that you will be held to the same standard as an attorney that spent three to four years attending law school and has practiced tort law for years. That's a difficult thing ... are you up to that task? Are you willing to spend the time (a couple of years, probably) and money to pay for depositions, investigators, etc.?

If you are suing in Small Claims Court, you will have to sue for actual damages, not how much your ego was hurt.

 

[Starnexus]

You said you already filed suit, right? Take whatever evidence you have to court and it will be up to the judge to decide whether to order the return of your Facebook page or not.

It is highly unlikely that the court will award you damages for emotional distress - but be prepared with proof of the emotional distress suffered, and evidence of all of your doctor's visits and the medical treatments you underwent, just in case. The elements of an emotional distress claim are not easily met, even though Wikipedia may have made them seem so.

Be prepared with evidence of economic losses, if you have any and you expect a monetary award of damages.

Be prepared with evidence that you are the owner of the Facebook page and that your Facebook group was usurped by the nefarious mortgage broker (I do not see how you can prove that members of the group were complicit in the takeover). With proof, the court could order the return of your Facebook page and group to you.

I would once again try to get this resolved outside of court, though - either through Facebook or through a letter to the mortgage broker from an attorney in your area.

Whatever you decide to do, I wish you good luck and good emotional health.

I wanted to solve this but now he won't give the group back so I think a little pressure from a lawsuit might make him decide to return it. Sadly I had to file in the state he lives in AZ since I didn't see that I could file a federal suit so I have to request a trial be telephone.

 

[Starnexus]

Okay, understand that if you want to sue you not only have to have grounds AND damages, you will also need to come up with about $20,000 on the low end. How much are you willing to put on the table just to roll the dice and hope that MAYBE you might get your attorney's fees back. Fee waivers are a very small portion of the total cost.

And if you try to sue in Superior Court pro se, understand that you will be held to the same standard as an attorney that spent three to four years attending law school and has practiced tort law for years. That's a difficult thing ... are you up to that task? Are you willing to spend the time (a couple of years, probably) and money to pay for depositions, investigators, etc.?

If you are suing in Small Claims Court, you will have to sue for actual damages, not how much your ego was hurt.

So I wanted to make this a small claims case but in Arizona (where the perpetrator lives) they said I couldn't do specific performance in small claims. The accomplice that lives here in CA I am taking to small claims though. I don't think I'd need to pay for depositions, investigators or any of that since the case is relatively simple. I've read the criteria for emotional distress I don't understand why some of you keep saying that'd be difficult to prove when I have doctors notes and their messages.

 

[Zigner]

So I wanted to make this a small claims case but in Arizona (where the perpetrator lives) they said I couldn't do specific performance in small claims. The accomplice that lives here in CA I am taking to small claims though. I don't think I'd need to pay for depositions, investigators or any of that since the case is relatively simple. I've read the criteria for emotional distress I don't understand why some of you keep saying that'd be difficult to prove when I have doctors notes and their messages.

If I were the defendant, after winning, I would sue you for Wrongful Use of Civil Proceedings (ie: malicious prosecution.)

 

[CdwJava]

So I wanted to make this a small claims case but in Arizona (where the perpetrator lives) they said I couldn't do specific performance in small claims. The accomplice that lives here in CA I am taking to small claims though. I don't think I'd need to pay for depositions, investigators or any of that since the case is relatively simple. I've read the criteria for emotional distress I don't understand why some of you keep saying that'd be difficult to prove when I have doctors notes and their messages.

You have to PROVE that you suffered significant emotional anguish (aka "extreme personal suffering") over the matter, that's why. Simply saying you were upset is not enough - especially when you are going to be in court over a flippin' Facebook page!

So, how much money are you asking for? Remember, lawsuits are about MONEY. The court may have no authority to turn the admin. rights of a Facebook page over to you, only to order a defendant that loses to pay you money to make you whole. You will have to come up with a reasonable figure that you can support with objective facts.

But, being someone who is a co-administrator of a few Facebook sites (private and government) myself, it is always a possibility that I can be edged out. If I want to maintain control of a site, I wouldn't let anyone else have control over it. There are different permissions that can be applied and if you set it up so that another administrator (someone you gave the right to access and control the page) could effectively take control of it, that's your bad. You gave him permission to control the site, and he did. Unless there was some form of a contract in place where he agreed not to edge you out or acknowledged you as the czar of the site, I doubt you can make any real claim here.

 

[Starnexus]

You have to PROVE that you suffered significant emotional anguish (aka "extreme personal suffering") over the matter, that's why. Simply saying you were upset is not enough - especially when you are going to be in court over a flippin' Facebook page!

So, how much money are you asking for? Remember, lawsuits are about MONEY. The court may have no authority to turn the admin. rights of a Facebook page over to you, only to order a defendant that loses to pay you money to make you whole. You will have to come up with a reasonable figure that you can support with objective facts.

But, being someone who is a co-administrator of a few Facebook sites (private and government) myself, it is always a possibility that I can be edged out. If I want to maintain control of a site, I wouldn't let anyone else have control over it. There are different permissions that can be applied and if you set it up so that another administrator (someone you gave the right to access and control the page) could effectively take control of it, that's your bad. You gave him permission to control the site, and he did. Unless there was some form of a contract in place where he agreed not to edge you out or acknowledged you as the czar of the site, I doubt you can make any real claim here.

Yes I have all that evidence ready stating he was to HELP me run the group. Then of him saying he was resigning. So yes I've got that part covered and no for facebook groups there are no different tiers either you are an administrator or a member and nothing else. Believe me I WISH fb did have more than two tiers. I was also told to expect that someone people wouldn't understand how much this meant to me (hence some of the replies to this thread) so I have to make sure I communicate this to the judge in court. Well, we have to go to mediation first so we'll see what happens there.

 

[Proserpina]

Yes I have all that evidence ready stating he was to HELP me run the group. Then of him saying he was resigning. So yes I've got that part covered and no for facebook groups there are no different tiers either you are an administrator or a member and nothing else. Believe me I WISH fb did have more than two tiers. I was also told to expect that someone people wouldn't understand how much this meant to me (hence some of the replies to this thread) so I have to make sure I communicate this to the judge in court. Well, we have to go to mediation first so we'll see what happens there.

Like everyone else, I can't see you winning this no matter where you file suit.

If you file in small claims, you can't file for emotional distress - you need to show actual damages.

You said:

He owns a home and he's a senior mortgage broker. So yes he DOES have assets and moreso I just want the court to order him to return the group.

Not going to happen. You think a senior mortgage broker won't have his attorney get the case tossed AND make you responsible for his costs? Come on now - it will be over and done with before you reach for a glass of water.

So far I've spent $50 on the three cases since I qualify for court fee waivers. This is a matter of principal. There's no way I spend 7 years building something and then just have someone steal it, brag about it, and me not do anything about it.

Lawsuits filed on principal will more often than not cost you more than you'd ever hope to get back financially and as mentioned previously it will be impossible to determine whether your mental state is a direct result of this going on.

Doctors notes are just that. Notations. They write down what you report. In terms of your legal issue, they are only marginally more helpful than toilet paper. I don't know how many times we have to tell you the same thing.

 

[single317dad]

When you create a Facebook group you are the owner/admin of that page, with password access and the ability to invite members or remove them. You can designate co-admins who have those same privileges. I suspect the "thief" in question was given co-admin privileges and then removed OP as a member, and probably also changed the password to the page so that OP no longer has any access.

I wonder when this transgression originally happened and whether the OP was actually the original creator. Facebook does not allow the original creator to be removed form a group by anyone else under current rules. This is a small issue for me right now as the founder of a small group I currently run simply disappeared from Facebook quite some time ago. Even though I and a few others have full admin rights, we can't remove him or demote him from admin unless he does so voluntarily.

It's not a big deal, and I only mention it here as it contradicts OP's story to some extent.

 

[Zigner]

Yes I have all that evidence ready stating he was to HELP me run the group. Then of him saying he was resigning. So yes I've got that part covered and no for facebook groups there are no different tiers either you are an administrator or a member and nothing else. Believe me I WISH fb did have more than two tiers. I was also told to expect that someone people wouldn't understand how much this meant to me (hence some of the replies to this thread) so I have to make sure I communicate this to the judge in court. Well, we have to go to mediation first so we'll see what happens there.

The simple fact is that a reasonable person wouldn't respond the way you have. You also can reasonably be expected to know that your suit has no merit. That's why you open yourself up to a malicious prosecution suit once you lose. Lastly, there won't be any mediation in small claims court.

 

[Starnexus]

I wonder when this transgression originally happened and whether the OP was actually the original creator. Facebook does not allow the original creator to be removed form a group by anyone else under current rules. This is a small issue for me right now as the founder of a small group I currently run simply disappeared from Facebook quite some time ago. Even though I and a few others have full admin rights, we can't remove him or demote him from admin unless he does so voluntarily.

It's not a big deal, and I only mention it here as it contradicts OP's story to some extent.

The reason why he was able to kick me out is because I started the group 7 years ago but then I left and came back which is why I lost my founder status. No contradiction. Some of the replies on here not helpful. I wanted to know if I could sue somoene as an ACCOMPLICE but yet you just want to talk my suit itself. If you think its frivolous fine but that wasn't my question. I've already explored the merits of this case. I don't need your opinions on that I was just asking about the tort law in regards to being an accomplice. If you don't want to address that then there's no need to reply at all.

 

[Zigner]

The reason why he was able to kick me out is because I started the group 7 years ago but then I left and came back which is why I lost my founder status. No contradiction. Some of the replies on here not helpful. I wanted to know if I could sue somoene as an ACCOMPLICE but yet you just want to talk my suit itself. If you think its frivolous fine but that wasn't my question. I've already explored the merits of this case. I don't need your opinions on that I was just asking about the tort law in regards to being an accomplice. If you don't want to address that then there's no need to reply at all.

Oy Vey! It's not even your group any more - you already left!

 

[CdwJava]

The reason why he was able to kick me out is because I started the group 7 years ago but then I left and came back which is why I lost my founder status. No contradiction. Some of the replies on here not helpful. I wanted to know if I could sue somoene as an ACCOMPLICE but yet you just want to talk my suit itself. If you think its frivolous fine but that wasn't my question. I've already explored the merits of this case. I don't need your opinions on that I was just asking about the tort law in regards to being an accomplice. If you don't want to address that then there's no need to reply at all.

You can sue anyone for anything. Filing a suit is not hard - WINNING is. You have to have grounds, damages, and evidence in order to prevail. What is the dollar amount you are seeking in damages? And how is this dollar amount to make you whole determined?

 

[Proserpina]

The reason why he was able to kick me out is because I started the group 7 years ago but then I left and came back which is why I lost my founder status. No contradiction. Some of the replies on here not helpful. I wanted to know if I could sue somoene as an ACCOMPLICE but yet you just want to talk my suit itself. If you think its frivolous fine but that wasn't my question. I've already explored the merits of this case. I don't need your opinions on that I was just asking about the tort law in regards to being an accomplice. If you don't want to address that then there's no need to reply at all.

Hmm.

You LEFT the group.
Hence nobody "stole" it from you.
Hence no case.

(Well... against anyone else, at least. I imagine you'd be left roasting on the coals if you insist down this ridiculous path)