Harassment?? Sueable?

[spookyblazes]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law) CA?
My brother had a claim against my daughter for failure to pay off a loan. The two of them had disagreed on the remaining amount of the loan so my brother took my daughter to court. He was sueing her for 5000.00. When all was said and done the judge made the decision that she owed him 2500.00 and that she could make monthly payments to him which she has without failure on a regular basis.

My brother is very angry about the judges decision and has decided that he would e mail all her friends and tell them what kind of person she is. That she stole money from him and that she has turned the family against him.

He has also been sending her husband e mails stating that he is a con artist and that the only reason why he married my daughter was for shear profit and to take advantage of her. (at this time my daughter and her husband are having problems but nothing that she has told my brother about). My daughters husband also recently got hurt and my brother sent him an e mail and told him that it should of been his neck that he broke instead of his shoulder.

My daughter has made several attempts at sending him a e mai back stating that what he is doing is harassment and has asked him to stop. She has referenced in the e mail those that he has written in the past but still ignores her requests.

I thought when a judge makes a decision it is final. Does she have the right to request a restraining order and is this considered harassment?

Sincerlyl spooky

 

[quincy]

Your daughter has the right to request a restraining order against her uncle. However, in order for a court to issue a restraining order, your daughter must be able to prove, by clear and convincing evidence, that the conduct of your brother meets the definition of harassment under California law.

Under California's harassment statute §527.6, harassment is unlawful violence, or a credible threat of violence, or a knowing and willful course of conduct directed at a specific person that seriously alarms, annoys, or harasses the person, and that serves no legitimate purpose.

Unlawful violence would be assault or battery, and a credible threat of violence would be stalking or the threat of assault or battery. Acts of harassment are a pattern of conduct over time (ie. continued unwarranted harassing calls or correspondence) that causes substantial emotional distress.

Emails sent directly to, and only to, your daughter's husband are best ignored, unless they threaten violence (in which case they should be turned over to the police for investigation). These emails, no matter how defamatory, cannot support a defamation action, as defamation requires that defamatory statements are communicated to a third party and not just to the person about whom the statements are made.

Emails or communications to those other than your daughter, stating or implying that your daughter stole money from your brother or that your son-in-law is a con man, could potentially support a law suit, depending on the content and context of the communications. If your daughter has suffered severe emotional distress or demonstrable reputational injury, an attorney should review the statements made by your brother to determine what legal action, if any, is worth considering and pursuing.

I recommend that email addresses be changed so that your brother cannot contact your daughter or son-in-law any more. I also believe that family counseling may be more helpful than a restraining order, based on what you have posted here.

Good luck.