I really need help!

[firegal401]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Arizona


Back in Feb of 2007 i had started an Indepedent Fire Dept via AZ Corp Commission and ever since that time i have had SERIOUS problems by a nearby Fire District including defamation, harrassment and illegal arrest. The area i started the Fire Dept for is not legal jurisdiction at all for the District (and its fan club) that gave me problems. Back in Nov of 07 a member of thiers had me arrested on fraud charges by saying that the Dept i started was a fraud and not real but when i went to court 3 days later the state dropped the charges dues to insufficient evidence of any illegal activity or fraud. Ever since that time some of thoier members (and fan club) have SERIOUSLY defamed me and harrassed me online via 2 websites that simply talk trash about me even going to the extent of saying they are "watching me" I have all proof needed that can show that 95% of what they have said is FALSE and i have proof that the Dept i started IS LEGAL and is not at all in the Districts legal jurisdiction. Any help on this will be greatly appreciated. It seems the lawyers i have spoken to about this are cowards and are afraid to take on a District!

LAWYERS THAT ARE NOT AFRAID OF TAKING CASES PLEASE ONLY REPLY! Thanks.

 

[justalayman]

if you want to find a lawyer to consider this case, to the right side of the screen is a short form followed by an orange button with "find a lawyer" written on it.

use it.

 

[firegal401]

Hello, I did this many times and all i have ever got from the lawyers i have contacted (and i have contacted many) is "Im sorry but we do not want to get involved with this case at this time" or "we do not handle such cases". Seems like theres always an excuse on why they cannot take the case. This case i KNOW is winnable but i simply cannot do it all myself becuase once i do then they just try to find more to harrass me on and cause me problems on.

BTW, i even tried the Post-a-case thing on here and all i got back was an email directing me to this forum so what else must i do other than just put up with these numbskulls putting erroneous and defaming things online and around the neighborhood to try ruining me? Something really MUST be done. These people should not be allowed to be able to continue this 'wrath' on me just becuase i started a Fire Dept in a place that didnt have thier own. In all reality all i have EVER done wrong to deserve this was to try and HELP someone.

 

[The Occultist]

If not a single lawyer wants to take your case, shouldn't that kinda tell you something?

 

[tranquility]

Lawyers don't want to take sure winners? That's hard to believe. Maybe the payday is not enough. If you're so sure, pay them by the hour and take all the risk/reward rather than asking them to.

 

[firegal401]

If not a single lawyer wants to take your case, shouldn't that kinda tell you something?

Yes, it tells me they are either lazy or cowards to take on a District! I have had many tell me they did not want involved becuase it involved a District but it seems to me that if a District was truly in the wrong then i just dont see why they continue allow the District to continue being in the wrong.

I sent more emails out not long ago so hopefully i will get positive results.

 

[quincy]

There is a one year statute of limitations on defamation actions in Arizona.

If you are intent on suing this Fire District for defaming you, I suggest you keep this time limit in mind.

You really need to locate an attorney in your area and actually sit down with this attorney to discuss and go over all of your gathered evidence, and proof of defamation and reputational injury.

Sending out a bunch of emails to an assorted group of attorneys is not apt to help you much if you do not follow up your emails with an appointment - and a willingness to pay for an attorney's time. An email may be fine for an intial contact, in other words, but you must actually meet with an attorney before you can ever hope to find one willing to take on your case (if, in fact, you have a case worth pursuing).

Defamation actions are extremely expensive and time-consuming, and there is never a guarantee of a win. If you have been defamed however, and your reputation has been demonstrably damaged as a result of the defamatory comments made on these websites, it should be worth the initial few hundred dollars for you to speak with an Arizona defamation attorney.

 

[firegal401]

Hello Quincy, Thats just it. I dont have the money to do this. That was one of the first things i mentioned when emailing the different attorneys so they would know this first-hand and thats why i was sent to this free forum. Noone yet has even been interested in the case or even working a payment plan of some sort with me nor have they even given me the slightest indication of wanting to hold some sort of consultation with me nor give me any indication of what the cost on one would be. I do not hold a job and i cannot and will not say why on here and my income i must depend on someone else for and i am in no position to have this person pay for consultations and lawyer fees for me too. As i said before i have _plenty_ of evidence showing the defamation and other things as what is said is plainly seen on _both_ of the websites and the things that are said i have proof of that is all false. ANY lawyer that knew what they were doing could see one could suffer possible emotional(or other) damage if not from me trying to get employment of some type or even other things, just by reading the content shown on these websites.
What i was _at least_ hoping for would be some attorney that could look into the case seeing that its clearly a _winning_ case instead of just consistently giving me "the cold shoulder" just becuase a District happens to be involved. I just feel that even though a District is involved and just because it is a District, it should not mean that they should be immune to laws and just get away with what they are doing and have done.
I know that the limitations are one year and i realize there are maybe one or two things that has happened to me by the District that i cannot bring rectification on, but the defamation started in Nov and is _still_ happening to this very day on at least ONE of the websites. I think i can at least use anything said _after_ Nov( if i cannot find noone by then)to further the statute of limitation even though i could not use anything that has passed the date of the statute of limitation. I have contacted _both_ of the websites hosting companies (ie., Domains by Proxy, Network Solutions, etc) to gather the contact information of the individuals that run the websites and type out the defamation and i have explained all of what im explaining here with a decent bit of evidence showing the defamation is false and im still waiting on thier responses. The letters was sent by Certified Mail. With this done already i feel i have tried, with the resources i happen to have, which are not many, to help my cause. I cannot force an attorney to take the case, i can only hope that one comes to thier senses and at least offers me a chance. If they find
( and i mean really FIND) that the case is actually a winnable one, then id be delighted for them to take a considerable portion of whatever i may be awarded (restitutionwise) in the completion of the case.

 

[quincy]

I don't know what to tell you, Firegal.

Because of the time and expense involved in bringing a defamation action (thousands and thousands of dollars, and months if not years of time), very few attorneys are going to take a defamation case on a contingency basis, unless the action is against, say, a media giant or a large company where any damages awarded could be significant. It is just not worth their time or energy.

So, without money to pay for an attorney, you would probably be limited to finding help at a free legal aid clinic, and many of these do not handle defamation actions, either. It really depends on the area of the country you live in and the size of the city. You could certainly contact the Arizona State Bar to inquire about free assistance available in your area.

Some states allow defamation actions to be brought in "small claims" courts, but unfortunately, Arizona is not one of them, so this is not a matter you could handle yourself - you need an attorney.

The only actions I can think of for you to take are to go to court with your evidence of defamation to, one, get an order to have the websites remove the defamatory material and, two, to get a restraining order against those posting the defamatory material about you - to prevent them from any further harm.

You mentioned you have written to the websites already, and perhaps that will work, but many websites will not remove content from their sites without a court order. To get the court order, you must convince the court that the material is, in fact, defamatory (courts are very protective of free speech rights) - and some courts will not issue an order until a defamation action is filed first. So, we are back to you needing an attorney. . . .

My advice, then, is to check free legal clinics and call the State Bar for possible references. Then head to court with your evidence to see about court orders.

Good luck.

 

[firegal401]

Hello quincy, could the courts issue injunctions for the website owners if they are in other states or would i have to go through a federal court for that? One of the website owners is in the State of Nebraska while the other is in the State of Virginia.

As for the District (and thier ever-so-loving fab club) involved in this state, i already have found my solution in having them dealt with legally but i am not at liberty to say what though just in case they try using it against me.

Thanks so much for your advice.

 

[seniorjudge]

Q: could the courts issue injunctions for the website owners if they are in other states or would i have to go through a federal court for that? One of the website owners is in the State of Nebraska while the other is in the State of Virginia.

A: Yes, it is possible if you have a lawyer.