Comment by iamgilesbowkett | Hacker News Reader

Comment by iamgilesbowkett | Hacker News Reader

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iamgilesbowkett

hey @racerrick, my mom's a retired lawyer. (for context.) lawyers issue threats the way other people say hello. if this person says to you on the phone that you have to prove that you don't own the site, guess what? you can't prove she said it, since it isn't in writing, and it's not against the law to lie about that in the first place.

you need a sharp lawyer who won't rip you off. hire one. free advice is worth every penny you pay for it. however, IN MY OPINION, if you had a sharp lawyer who wouldn't rip you off, such a lawyer would tell you how to translate "fuck off, this has nothing to do with me" into lawyer-speak.

the translation would (IN MY OPINION) be brief, clear, and non-argumentative. whatever you do, DON'T be upset by anything they say to you. provoking rash reactions is just a tactic they employ.

if I were a lawyer, AND I AM NOT, I would tell you to write a letter that looked more or less like this:

"Dear Whoever,

I read your letter with interest, and noted your request that I shut down XYZ Site. However, I am unable to cease operating XYZ, because I do not operate it, and have never operated it at any time. In fact, I have absolutely no connection to XYZ, have never had any connection to it, and am unable to help you. Good luck, and have a nice day."

Again I AM NOT A LAWYER, but that's really all you need to say. You put that in the mail, certified of course, with receipt, so you can prove they got it, and you forget this ever happened. Any aggressive, offensive noises they make other than "here is your court date" are just NOISES. Ignore them.

In the unlikely event they get you in front of a judge, the judge will hear your simple defense - "nothing to do with me" - and ask them if they have any proof of it being anything to do with you. Since they don't, it's a short conversation, and you go home.

If you find yourself saying anything further than what I just described -- "not me, got your letter, nothing I can do" -- STOP IMMEDIATELY and either hire a lawyer or shut the fuck up.

speaking of hiring lawyers, again, disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, this is not legal advice, grain of salt, your mileage may vary. seriously just hire a fucking lawyer because panicking, freaking out, and/or writing 10,000 words about this is just completely wasted energy.

I'm not a lawyer, either, but a good friend of mine is. I showed him your post and this thread, and his advice is fairly similar to the above. Basically, reply to the C&D letter with a written letter of your own (make sure you get proof of delivery on the postage; keep a copy for your files; etc.). Your letter should be as polite and as brief as possible, because any extraneous language can and will be used against you. If you write something that can be misinterpreted, it's a safe bet that it will be.

Basically, your letter should: a) acknowledge receipt of their letter, b) state your non-affiliation with and non-operation of the offending service. And that's it. Just the facts. No editorialization. No defensiveness. No snide remarks. No theories about how or why they came to think you were involved, and how they are mistaken, etc. And avoid the temptation to get cute or cheeky. Don't poke the bear.

IF they reply to your reply -- which they very well may not -- then you should lawyer up. If you want to be super cautious, you can consult a lawyer, and probably pay a fair bit of coin in so doing, to draft your initial reply letter.

Is it even necessary to reply at all? I find it quite outrageous that random strangers could tap into my time like that. Or if a reply is necessary, could I charge for it? (I am not the original poster, just hypothetically speaking if something like that happened to me).

So long as your reply is short, balanced and factual then a reply is better than not replying. If nothing else it's extending the courtesy that we'd all want extended to us if we were making a complaint (saying, sorry, no, you've made a mistake), but also you're kidding yourself if you think these things go away when you ignore them. Reality is that it's more likely that they'll escalate.

In terms of could you charge for it, no of course not, sadly that's not how any of this works. You can throw out this sort of threat with little or no comeback.

Their lawyer is going to be looking for an excuse to bill more time on this issue, so if you don't reply, you will definitely hear more from them. So eventually you'll have to do something anyway. The sooner you respond, the sooner it's going to go away.

It's not necessary, but for 5 minutes of typing and the price of postage you can make them close their file and go away.

Hear hear!

Always remember that FB's attorneys get paid to mess with you. They could give a rats ass about your innocence or well-being. If they win they get paid. If they lose, they still get paid. Logic and reason will simply fall on deaf ears. They are hourly billing automatons.

Remain calm and follow your lawyer's advice.

Not a lawyer either, but I've responded to C&D letters myself. Just write the bare minimum and make it clear that you are either complying with their demands or that you are unable to because they have incorrect facts. I've never even had a response to my response letter.

Thanks! Good advice.

also, just to be clear, this is not legal advice. I know absolutely nothing about the law and am just some asshat making shit up on the internet.

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