Harassing Phone Calls

State: Ohio

Have been receiving harassing (mostly hangup, all hours, every day) phone calls for 10 months. Every day. Every single day. On home phone, cell phone, at office. Calls coming from fiancé's ex girlfriend in another state. Caller ID shows either "Unavailable" or a number leading back to an AT&T prepaid calling card service. Also calling daughter's cell phone. Mostly hangup calls. Harasser never says anything except when she calls the office, asking to be put through to operating room, or asking nurses rude questions about my fiancé's financial transactions. Harasser used to work for Verizon Wireless (My cell phone and my daughter's are through Verizon). Police say their subpoenas to phone companies go unanswered because of a lack of jurisdiction. I think this is bull, but don't know what to do. Calls began before Christmas '04 and haven't stopped since. Have changed phone numbers many times. Have privacy manager at home. After I changed cell phone number, she got the new number within two days, and I hadn't given it to anyone! Police not getting results. Some 90% of all incoming calls are from her on home phone, 95% on cell phone. Not so much on office phone, but she knows I'm there on one certain day of the week and calls relentlessly then.

Question: Can I file a small claim against harasser in my local municipal court?
Question: Can I, under such a claim, subpoena telephone companies myself?
Question: Does Ohio law even allow small claims court to be used for discovery?
Question: Can I request damages? If so in what amount? Cost of investigation and court fees? All phone bills since harassment began?
Question: What kind of records do phone companies keep?
Question: If I serve her and she stops, can I still get records from before she stopped, or does she have to be caught in the act in order to get documentation?

Thanks!

Qwertz said:

Can I file a small claim against harasser in my local municipal court?

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You can file your suit anywhere you want.... however:
1) Your complaint cannot be heard in small claims. That court is for money issues only. Your claim would need to be filed in a higher court, and you will likely need an attorney.
2) Your lawsuit can be challenged as to jurisdiction. Depending on your specifics, the court could dismiss.

Can I, under such a claim, subpoena telephone companies myself?

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Your lawsuit would give you the power of subpoena and other pre-trial discovery's, but since it won't be in small claims, you will need your attorney to do it.

Does Ohio law even allow small claims court to be used for discovery?

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Not relevant.... as yours is not a small claims matter.

Can I request damages? If so in what amount? Cost of investigation and court fees? All phone bills since harassment began?

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You, through your attorney, can claim just about anything you want.

What kind of records do phone companies keep?

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Detailed.

If I serve her and she stops, can I still get records from before she stopped, or does she have to be caught in the act in order to get documentation?

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Depends on the subpoean request.

harassment in ohio

Can you request damages? See Ohio revised code section 2917.21 for detailed info on lawful claims. In addition, interstate harassment by telephone is a federal offense under title 47 sec 223 U.S.C.. Contact federal authorities for assistance in halting the calls if local agencies don't help. Be prepared: federal bureaucracy can be overwhelming. Jurisdiction can be either the geographical source of the calls, or where they are received. In one case I am aware of (non-federal), jurisdiction was where the calls were received, as that is where complaints were initiated.

cjbrown929 said:

Can you request damages?

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She can 'request' anything she wants.... but she would have to PROVE damages in court. And that is where the problem lies. What MONEY damages are incurred by the claimed harassment??

See Ohio revised code section 2917.21 for detailed info on lawful claims.

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Though your link is correct (good job!), the assumption of claims is not. The statute you correctly referred to is CRIMINAL... not civil. And the local police will not pursue this as it is a 'no win'. It is simply VERY expensive to bring this type case to trial.... for such a minor issue as 'hang-ups'.
http://onlinedocs.andersonpublishing.com/oh/lpExt.dll/PORC/13316/13978/139d8/139d9?fn=document-frame.htm&f=templates&2.0#

In addition, interstate harassment by telephone is a federal offense under title 47 sec 223 U.S.C.

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Again, though technically correct.... the fact is... this Code will never be prosecuted in a case like this. The FBI is simply too busy with 'real' problems.

Contact federal authorities for assistance in halting the calls if local agencies don't help.

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See above.

The ONLY recourse the OP has is to contact a local attorney who can write the person a 'cease and desist' letter.... and HOPE that they stop.

And another, even larger, problem is in getting a POSITIVE ID on the caller... required in order to do ANY of the above.

harassment

JETX: good points. I myself am awaiting news on a pretrial conference set for today concerning an ex who viciously harassed myself and friends not unlike the person in question here. It took almost herculean effort to get the DA to charge this person (PC 273.6(A), violating a court order) with making 5,000 to 10,000 calls, many of them threatening. I have changed my # 12 times and sworn the provider to secrecy. The bottom line is, follow jetx's advice and get an attorney. and some peace of mind.

Have you ever tried...

No legal suggestions...Sorry.

Just curious...Until caller loses interest...

Can you configure your home phone service to allow out-going calls only?

Can you purchase your cell phone service through a third-party? A business name...a relative in Idaho -- a source which the caller could not easily link to you/daughter personally.

harassment

Have you tried calling Verizon's "Illegal call bureau"? The # is 800-257-2269, I believe. They would HAVE to be interested if a current employee was accessing/ funneling information to anyone not authorized to receive it, and I'll bet they can find out who it is. Sometimes you have to lean on them a little bit, but this one is a no-brainer.

JETX said:

She can 'request' anything she wants.... but she would have to PROVE damages in court. And that is where the problem lies. What MONEY damages are incurred by the claimed harassment??


Though your link is correct (good job!), the assumption of claims is not. The statute you correctly referred to is CRIMINAL... not civil. And the local police will not pursue this as it is a 'no win'. It is simply VERY expensive to bring this type case to trial.... for such a minor issue as 'hang-ups'.
http://onlinedocs.andersonpublishing.com/oh/lpExt.dll/PORC/13316/13978/139d8/139d9?fn=document-frame.htm&f=templates&2.0#


Again, though technically correct.... the fact is... this Code will never be prosecuted in a case like this. The FBI is simply too busy with 'real' problems.


See above.

The ONLY recourse the OP has is to contact a local attorney who can write the person a 'cease and desist' letter.... and HOPE that they stop.

And another, even larger, problem is in getting a POSITIVE ID on the caller... required in order to do ANY of the above.

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Thought I'd add some real life experience to this "advice".

I have been the recepient of thousands of call-hangups by an ex gf. Jet states conclusively that police will not pursue this type of case. I hope you didn't take his "advice" as gospel. In my case, I was able to convince the DA of the aggravated nature of the case. He wasn't sure how to pursue it until I suggested he file under PC 653m(b)(that's California). To my surprise, he called and agreed, and the case has been filed.

I'm not going to sugar-coat it, though. It took a while, to the point where I thought that I was going to be arrested for harassing the DA, but once they looked at her phone records, they were shocked. What people need to understand is that neither the police or the DA's office keep track of how many times you've called to complain. After a while, you need to talk to a watch commander, victim/witness advocate, or DDA to make clear the extent of the harassment.