A better solution might be to send the purchaser a certified, return
receipt letter promising to refer the matter to both district attorneys
in your and his jurisdictions. Might at least get his attention.
If any part of the purchase/sale involved the U.S. Mail then your local
postal inspector could possibly get involved.
The postal inspector involvement seems farfetched I know, but when I was
a newspaper police/law enforcement/courts reporter for 20+ years I once
wrote a story about an insurance/mail fraud case where the policy holder
tried to avoid federal mail fraud charges by hand delivering his claim,
etc. to his local insurance agent. The case became mail fraud against
the policy holder/claimant (not the insurance agent) when the insurance
agent mailed the claim form to his company's home office as was normal
procedure. A Fort Worth federal grand jury indicted the policy holder
for mail fraud.
Also as a news reporter I was sued for libel several times by folks
upset at stories I wrote. I'm not an attorney, but in Texas truth
is/was an absolute defense against libel unless the plaintiff can prove
malice by the defendant. I never had malice against anyone I wrote
about, I was just doing my job. The biggest libel lawsuit was for $3
million back in the mid-1980s filed by a Fort Worth public school
teacher against me, the police officer who arrested him, the City of
Fort Worth, my newspaper the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and the Tarrant
County District Attorney's office. The teacher was arrested for abusing
little girls at the elementary school where he taught. He tried to
claim that I had something against him, when I didn't even know him
until the charge was filed in court. All I did was write about what was
contained in the charge the detective filed against him in court. It
was ultimately thrown out of court, but the newspaper and the city still
had to spend $$$ to defend itself and me.
I can't speak for libel/slander laws in other states.
Tom, WW5L
Martin, AA6E wrote:
>People should be aware that there is such a thing as libel, which is
>defamatory written speech. From freeadvice.com:
>
>"Defamation, sometimes called "defamation of character", is spoken or
>written words that falsely and negatively reflect on a living person's
>reputation.
>
>"If a person or the news media says or writes something about you that
>is understood to lower your reputation, or that keeps people from
>associating with you, defamation has occurred. Slander and libel are
>two forms of defamation."
>
>In other words, if you go using extreme negative words to describe
>someone (see subject line), and it is later found to be false, they
>can sue. You really don't want to be in that situation if (1) you
>have deep pockets, or (2) they have deep pockets.
>
>In other words, don't go around venting in public. If you want to
>report a transaction gone sour, you can do it in factual terms. Let
>the reader draw the conclusions.
>
>73 Martin AA6E
>
>
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