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texas defamation

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neil4jesus

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? nm
If I am served for a defamation suite in texas, how can I respond withour hiring a lawer?
 


Proserpina

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? nm
If I am served for a defamation suite in texas, how can I respond withour hiring a lawer?


Have you actually been served?

Seriously, you need to do whatever it takes to find an attorney. Defamation suits are incredibly costly (in terms of both time and money) to litigate and even if the suit is without merit, the plaintiff can bury you with legal fees.
 

neil4jesus

Junior Member
No I have not been served,We have been gone so they couldn't serve me.
They asked the court to 'deny motion 106" they said they had tried my house 7 time and I wouldn't answer the door.
The court denied there request,but it's only a matter of time.
 

quincy

Senior Member
:confused:

Huh?

Who was it who filed a motion under §101.106 of the Texas Tort Claims Act?

You are a government employee located in New Mexico but you expect to be sued in Texas?

I agree with Proserpina that, whatever situation you are finding yourself in (and it is a total puzzle to me based on what little information you have provided), you need the services of an attorney in your area.
 
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neil4jesus

Junior Member
I am not a goverment employee,but I live in NM.
The suit was filed in TX court.
The plaintiff filed the suit in TX court.
Do I need an attorney before I am served?
We own part of an apt. complex in Dallas area.
The plaintiff is collecting the rent ($350K per month). He is supposed to be making the loan payments and none have been made since oct 2009.
He is just spending our money to create problems for us.
The agreement we are working on says that if he cures the loan, and pays the costs,everbody will forgive everbody else.So I'm thinking if I can hold off for a while this will all gp away.Thanks Neil
 

Proserpina

Senior Member
I am not a goverment employee,but I live in NM.
The suit was filed in TX court.
The plaintiff filed the suit in TX court.
Do I need an attorney before I am served?
We own part of an apt. complex in Dallas area.
The plaintiff is collecting the rent ($350K per month). He is supposed to be making the loan payments and none have been made since oct 2009.
He is just spending our money to create problems for us.
The agreement we are working on says that if he cures the loan, and pays the costs,everbody will forgive everbody else.So I'm thinking if I can hold off for a while this will all gp away.Thanks Neil



Neil, please forgive me - but I'm just not seeing where defamation comes into play here at all.

What exactly has been filed?

Please, note that you should NEVER ignore any court filings.
 

quincy

Senior Member
Once again, huh? :confused:

You co-own an apartment complex with the Plaintiff. The Plaintiff is the fellow who is charged with collecting the rent money and with paying on a loan you are both responsible for, but he has not been making the loan payments. And now he is suing you for defamation. Is this correct?

What did you write or say about the Plaintiff that he considers defamatory, and to whom did you communicate these "defamatory" statements?

What was this "106" motion that was filed? Who filed this motion?

I honestly think you need an attorney who can sort through all of the facts, Neil. Having one now to assist you would probably be wise, but certainly you will want one after you are served with the complaint. If the suit has been filed in Texas, you will want a Texas attorney to handle the matter for you. I do not think you can handle this easily on your own.

And you really cannot continue to avoid service.
 
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neil4jesus

Junior Member
We have not been trying to avoid service, we were gone for 5 months (my wife had 3 brain surgerys in seattle )
The defamation suit is because I told one of the other investors that the plantiff was a crook.
Thanks to all, this is such a mess.
 

quincy

Senior Member
I am sorry to hear about your wife. I am sure your mind has been on her and not on the troubles brewing in Texas.

If you are being sued for defamation because you called the Plaintiff a crook, and you have proof that he has been misusing the rent money he has been collecting, and/or you have proof that he is not paying on the loan as he is supposed to, then you can use "truth" as a defense to defeat the defamation claim against you. A "crook" label can truthfully apply to the Plaintiff's proven mishandling of investor funds.

I would concentrate on collecting evidence of the mishandling of funds now, before you are served with what you believe is an inevitable complaint against you, so that any attorney you contact has this to review.

Although claiming the co-owner of the property is a crook probably hurts you as much as it does him, as far as investors go, at least it does not appear (based solely on what you have posted here) that he could easily win the defamation suit against you. But it will take an attorney's review of all of the facts and evidence to determine this better.

It does, indeed, sound like a mess you are dealing with. A settlement with the Plaintiff can always be hoped for. And I am still puzzled by the "106" motion. ;)

I hope your wife is recovering well from her surgeries, and I wish you good luck with everything.
 

neil4jesus

Junior Member
Quincy
Thanks my wife is home and doing well.
The 106 motion asked the court to let them serve me on the internet and by first class mail.That was denied.
The plantiff named four of us in the defamation suit.
We will have no problem proving his withholding funds and not paying the payments.
This suit is just harrasment.
The plantiff hired a lawyer to represent fourteen of us against him.Yes he paid the legal fees.
We of course have filed a $30m suite against his family trust.
The SEC and FBI are both looking at this.
This one of the craziest thing I have ever seen.
Do you pratice llaw in TX? Neil
 

Dave1952

Senior Member
You co-own an apartment complex that collects a gross of $350,000 every month but you do not have a lawyer and do not wish to hire one? The BS detector is going off. What's this about?

Good luck
 

quincy

Senior Member
It is a bit curious, Dave. There are awfully large sums of money being discussed here. I would think an attorney deserves at least some of it. ;)

Thanks for letting me know that the 106 you mentioned was a method of service motion, Neil. That clears that mystery up for me. I was a wee bit off base with my earlier guess :). In Michigan, which is where I am located, method of service is covered under Rule 2.103 et seq. Rule 106 is evidence.

Your situation does, indeed, sound like a crazy one. I wish you luck with it all.
 
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quincy

Senior Member
That is generally the case. :)

Lawsuits are expensive both to pursue and to defend against, and attorney fees account for much of the cost. That is why more people are attempting to cut their legal costs by eliminating the attorney part entirely and handling court actions on their own.

Although this is understandable in today's financial climate, and most courts now have self-help sites and court forms available to assist the pro se, and the internet allows for a pro se to do limited legal research, unfortunately some lawsuits are just too difficult for a person to handle without the services of an attorney.

Defamation lawsuits generally fall into this category.

When faced with a defamation suit that involves two different states, and when money stakes are as high as they appear to be here, and when the other side already has a lawyer working for him, it seems unwise not to have an attorney on your side, handling the matter for you.

I believe your first step, therefore, should be to go over all of the facts of your situation with an attorney to see what your best course of action is, this either before you are served with the complaint or immediately after.

Your situation sucks for sure, Neil, but the most important thing to concentrate on is that your wife is home and doing well. The legal stuff, while important, pales in comparison, and will eventually work itself out.

Good luck.
 

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