Pro Se Plaintiff seeking advise and direction in civil suit

[justalayman]

Willlyjo;3124860]The OP's case file is one of public record as is all such Complaints filed with various courts in this country. Unless such documents contained in these files are sealed, they can be viewed and even copied by the public. If someone wants to send an exact copy of a document within such files, to anyone, it would be no more than sending a copy of public record, which could not, in any way, make the sender liable for any kind of defamation.

I give up on ya willy. You'll apparently never understand.

 

[quincy]

As one who will soon be bringing his own Complaint to Federal court, there has not been anything posted thus far that would scare me away from the belief that sending copies of my Complaint to various media outlets would be a good idea in that it could possibly lead to an Attorney who may represent me.

Ah, dear.

Willly, if you really wish to become educated (doubtful) on how and why sending the complaint to others could open Timothy up to a defamation claim, here are some cases for you to read, and these cases will provide additional cases for you to read which will, in turn, provide even more cases:

C.A.T. Scan Associates v Ohio Nuclear Inc, 608 F.Supp 1187 (S.D.N.Y. 1985)
Kennedy v Cannon, 229 Md. 92, 98-99 (1962)
Citizens State Bank of New Jersey v Lebertelli, 521 A.2d 867, 215 N.J. Super 190 (N.J. Super A.D. 1987)
Sunstar Ventures, LLC v Tigani, Consol C.A. No. 08C-04-042 JAP (Del Super 4/30/2009)
Barker v Huang, 610 A. 2d 1341, 1347 (Del Super 1991)
Bradley v Hartford Acc & Indem Co, 106 Cal Rptr 718, 30 Cal App 3d 818 (Cal App 1 Dist. 1973)
Asay v Hallmark Cards, 594 F.2d 692 (8th Circ)
Bochetto v Gibson, J-61-2004 (PA, 2004)
Seidl v Greentree Mortgage Co, 30 F. Supp 2d 1292, 1316 (D.Colo 1998)
Green Acres Trust v London, 688 P.2d 617 (Arizona 1984)
Bender v Smith Barney, 901 F.Supp 863, 871 (N.J. 1994)
Devivo v Ascher, 228 N.J. Super 453, 550 A. 2d 163 (N.J. Super A.D. 1988)
Post v Mendel, 507 A.Ed 351, 355 (PA 1986)
Pratt v Nelson, 164 P.3d 366 (Utah 2007)

From just one case (Citizens State Bank of New Jersey v Lebertelli, 521 A 2d 867, 215 N.J. Super 190 (N.J. Super A.D. 1987)): "Distribution of court-filed documents to the press or other interested persons merely republishes material otherwise absolutely privileged. However, such distribution is not protected because it is foreign to the purposes of the privilege and serves only the interest of the distributor in getting one side of the story out first or most vividly. . . Distribution to the press and the public of pleadings and other documents may be a tactic chosen by litigants, but it is not immunized as part of the judicial process." Emphasis added.

In court after court in the states hearing cases on matters relating to privilege and the publication of court documents, courts have overwhelmingly said there exists NO absolute privilege with the publication of a complaint, because only one party and one side is heard, and this leaves the publisher, et al, of the complaint open to a defamation claim.

Your ignorance of the law, Willly, can cause harm to those visiting this site looking for accurate answers, advice and direction for their legal concerns.



(Thanks for the really nice words, ecmst12. Although I am sure I have made incorrect and unwise posts in the past, I think I will refrain from pointing any of those out right now. )

 

[Willlyjo]

Ah, dear.

Willly, if you really wish to become educated (doubtful) on how and why sending the complaint to others could open Timothy up to a defamation claim, here are some cases for you to read, and these cases will provide additional cases for you to read which will, in turn, provide even more cases:

C.A.T. Scan Associates v Ohio Nuclear Inc, 608 F.Supp 1187 (S.D.N.Y. 1985)
Kennedy v Cannon, 229 Md. 92, 98-99 (1962)
Citizens State Bank of New Jersey v Lebertelli, 521 A.2d 867, 215 N.J. Super 190 (N.J. Super A.D. 1987)
Sunstar Ventures, LLC v Tigani, Consol C.A. No. 08C-04-042 JAP (Del Super 4/30/2009)
Barker v Huang, 610 A. 2d 1341, 1347 (Del Super 1991)
Bradley v Hartford Acc & Indem Co, 106 Cal Rptr 718, 30 Cal App 3d 818 (Cal App 1 Dist. 1973)
Asay v Hallmark Cards, 594 F.2d 692 (8th Circ)
Bochetto v Gibson, J-61-2004 (PA, 2004)
Seidl v Greentree Mortgage Co, 30 F. Supp 2d 1292, 1316 (D.Colo 1998)
Green Acres Trust v London, 688 P.2d 617 (Arizona 1984)
Bender v Smith Barney, 901 F.Supp 863, 871 (N.J. 1994)
Devivo v Ascher, 228 N.J. Super 453, 550 A. 2d 163 (N.J. Super A.D. 1988)
Post v Mendel, 507 A.Ed 351, 355 (PA 1986)
Pratt v Nelson, 164 P.3d 366 (Utah 2007)

From just one case (Citizens State Bank of New Jersey v Lebertelli, 521 A 2d 867, 215 N.J. Super 190 (N.J. Super A.D. 1987)): "Distribution of court-filed documents to the press or other interested persons merely republishes material otherwise absolutely privileged. However, such distribution is not protected because it is foreign to the purposes of the privilege and serves only the interest of the distributor in getting one side of the story out first or most vividly. . . Distribution to the press and the public of pleadings and other documents may be a tactic chosen by litigants, but it is not immunized as part of the judicial process." Emphasis added.

In court after court in the states hearing cases on matters relating to privilege and the publication of court documents, courts have overwhelmingly said there exists NO absolute privilege with the publication of a complaint, because only one party and one side is heard, and this leaves the publisher, et al, of the complaint open to a defamation claim.

Your ignorance of the law, Willly, can cause harm to those visiting this site looking for accurate answers, advice and direction for their legal concerns.



(Thanks for the really nice words, ecmst12. Although I am sure I have made incorrect and unwise posts in the past, I think I will refrain from pointing any of those out right now. )

Hmmm....my ignorance of the law causing harm to Ops visiting this site? How so? Lately, every time you bring up defamation, I start thinking of the boy who cried wolf. My opinion that sending a Complaint to a news agency for possible broadcast is based on the fact that even if there is a modicum of non-privilege involving the republishing of such Complaint, the odds of it resulting in Defamation litigation is absolutely miniscule, since it would be pretty hard to successfully litigate against someone who publishes material based on fact and/or opinion.

I have the experience of doing just that, sending a copy of a Complaint that was moved to Federal Court for a Demurrer Hearing, to a Newspaper and they published a story concerning it. The Newspaper reported my side of the story, listing allegations that YOU might believe warrant liability for Defamation. The Newspaper also tried to contact the Defendant for their side of the story and there was no response.

If everyone thought like you do and others within this thread concerning Defamation and the liability thereof, this society would be WITHOUT any news reporting agencies at all.

I agree that ANYONE can be sued for ANYTHING! That is simply the nature of the beast. However, as I previously said and speaking for myself, 'there is nothing that has been posted (and probably won't be) that would scare me away from sending a copy of a Civil Complaint to a news outlet.'

 

[Anyone2012]

Well I'm not about to jump up and send my complaint to any media outlet. Frankly, I couldn't be bothered. I don't think any media attention would be needed to prove my case. Although I agree with the posting that the attention would be bad attention for the defendants, I just couldn't be bothered.

As far as sending it to people, my i initial thought was that it was public record and wasnt an issue. I thought about the inferences people could draw and how it could be twisted from seeing just the complaint and that's why I had published all of the public filings.

I have been rethinking that decision, and have temporally disconnected the link. Not because I'm worried about a defamation suit, but the logic is that a lawyer who wanted to view the complaint could simply look it up on pacer.

 

[quincy]

Timothy, I am curious: Has there ever been any media attention given your assault in jail?

Timothy, I apologize for my part in having your thread-concerns diverted. My relatively simple question spawned advice from Willly that I felt needed addressing so that you didn't think sending off your complaint was a good idea. It generally is not a good idea and I would not have recommended it.

My question was, "Has there ever been any media attention given your assault in jail?" That question was asked for a reason. Although I am still curious as to the answer and what exactly was reported about your assault at the time of the assault (if there was any coverage at all), FA's resident troll Willly is not going to let me post without debating whatever it is I write, so I am out of here.

I wish you good luck.

 

[Willlyjo]

Timothy, I apologize for my part in having your thread-concerns diverted. My relatively simple question spawned advice from Willly that I felt needed addressing so that you didn't think sending off your complaint was a good idea. It generally is not a good idea and I would not have recommended it.

My question was, "Has there ever been any media attention given your assault in jail?" That question was asked for a reason. Although I am still curious as to the answer and what exactly was reported about your assault at the time of the assault (if there was any coverage at all), FA's resident troll Willly is not going to let me post without debating whatever it is I write, so I am out of here.

I wish you good luck.

Resident troll eh? I like that. Actually, all members are resident trolls. Anyway, 90% of the time, the debating of your posts is in response to what you say about my posts. For instance, I am of the opinion that sending one's Complaint to a news outlet could be a good idea and you are of the opinion that it isn't. Fine, but don't embellish, knowing your friends will support you no matter what you say or how you say it. I never said it was okay to send defamatory material as you suggest I did.

It goes without saying that if you send or publish defamatory material, that you could be subject to litigation. The key to avoiding such litigation is common sense. For instance, you should study the material you want to send to the news outlet, scrutinizing any statements or allegations that could merit a claim against you for defamation. Under the circumstances concerning Mr. MacDonald's Complaint, I don't see any possibility of liability for Defamation what-so-ever.

Is it possible the prisoner who assaulted Mr. MacDonald can successfully sue for Defamation because Mr. MacDonald tells anyone and everyone who listens, that he assaulted Mr. MacDonald? NO. Can the immediate Supervisor successfully sue Mr. MacDonald because Mr. MacDonald tells everyone the supervisor was negligent in not addressing MacDonald's safety in view of evidence that shows MacDonald gave notice that his cell door was defective? NO. If MacDonald expressed his opinion that the immediate supervisor was negligent even in the absense of proof that he was, does not make him liable for Defamation.

Therefore, because I can see no possible way Mr. MacDonald would be open to a defamation suit in view of what is stated in his Complaint, my opinion that it wouldn't hurt to tell his story to a news outlet and might even generate the interest of an Attorney to take his case on Contingency, stands. This doesn't mean Quincy (or anyone else) isn't allowed his/their own opinion that may or may not agree with mine.

 

[Anyone2012]

Quincy,


Sorry for no having answered your question soon, but no there hasn't been media attention to my incident. I havent sent to the media, and wont be.