questions99
Junior Member
California
At the moment I'm somewhat indirectly involved in a civil lawsuit between a lawyer and a family member. Without getting too much into details, the lawyer has said that he has cause to sue me as well, but will refrain from doing so on the grounds that I act as a witness against the family member. I recently had to provide testimony during a deposition within the case, however just prior the start of the deposition, the lawyer approached me before hand and informed me that he was filing a lawsuit against me, but would not serve the lawsuit if I said something specific against my family member during questioning. I obviously felt very pressured to answer the questions in a certain way, as I don't have the resources to fight a lawsuit. When I made a comment about him wanting me to say a specific answer, he quickly tried to reinforce that "he" didn't want me to say anything, and that I needed to say the truth, but that I needed address my family members actions in a certain way during questioning. I do specifically remember him talking about how such a lawsuit would have a horrible effect on my life for years to come, and if I wanted to avoid that, I needed to say that specific thing against my family member. I did talk about the incident during the deposition, so some fact about it are on record. During the deposition, he said it was not a "threat" because he would have to prove what was said in the lawsuit against me.
The question I have is, did this lawyer violate my civil rights, or commit any kind of wrong doing by this? Can I tell the judge about what happened? Also, what he wanted me to say about my family member was somewhat true, but not to the degree he wanted me to say. I would have phrased it much differently without the pressure of this lawsuit. During the deposition, it seemed like he was trying to push me into a corner to answer other questions specifically, but I couldn't because I truthfully didn't know.
Thank you.
At the moment I'm somewhat indirectly involved in a civil lawsuit between a lawyer and a family member. Without getting too much into details, the lawyer has said that he has cause to sue me as well, but will refrain from doing so on the grounds that I act as a witness against the family member. I recently had to provide testimony during a deposition within the case, however just prior the start of the deposition, the lawyer approached me before hand and informed me that he was filing a lawsuit against me, but would not serve the lawsuit if I said something specific against my family member during questioning. I obviously felt very pressured to answer the questions in a certain way, as I don't have the resources to fight a lawsuit. When I made a comment about him wanting me to say a specific answer, he quickly tried to reinforce that "he" didn't want me to say anything, and that I needed to say the truth, but that I needed address my family members actions in a certain way during questioning. I do specifically remember him talking about how such a lawsuit would have a horrible effect on my life for years to come, and if I wanted to avoid that, I needed to say that specific thing against my family member. I did talk about the incident during the deposition, so some fact about it are on record. During the deposition, he said it was not a "threat" because he would have to prove what was said in the lawsuit against me.
The question I have is, did this lawyer violate my civil rights, or commit any kind of wrong doing by this? Can I tell the judge about what happened? Also, what he wanted me to say about my family member was somewhat true, but not to the degree he wanted me to say. I would have phrased it much differently without the pressure of this lawsuit. During the deposition, it seemed like he was trying to push me into a corner to answer other questions specifically, but I couldn't because I truthfully didn't know.
Thank you.
