HN Explorer

Ask HN: Former Employer Threatening Lawsuit

5 points by o0-0o ↗ HN
Greetings,

My former employer is threatening me with a lawsuit for; 1) stealing their customer list and marketing to them, and 2) stealing their software and IP.

Neither of these are true, and I am not responding to their shakedown letter.

Would anybody like to offer sage advice, anecdotes, or pro bono advice to cheer me up?

10 comments

[ 3.2 ms ] story [ 25.7 ms ] thread
darkmouth
First of all, backup any and all email communication you have had with the company about it.

If neither of these are true, and you are in fact marketing to customers but not using their list or software, gather logs and customer testimonials, and proof about where you got the customer contacts.

Additionally, gather emails indicating why you left the company or were asked to leave, as it might indicate the company's intent to get even with you.

Lastly, talk to a lawyer. Consultation is often free for the first time.

imaginenore
Stop talking to us. Lawyer up. Don't post any more information that can be recognized.

My layman opinion is that he will have to prove his claims, and is probably trying to scare you into giving him your client list.

samfisher83
Why not just publicly shame them. It seems to have worked for some people. If you have to hire a lawyer it is just too expensive. Even if you win you are going to lose.
greenyoda
He really needs to talk to a lawyer to determine whether the company has a case against him. If they sue him and he doesn't have competent legal counsel, he'll be in very bad shape. Spending a few hundred dollars to get a lawyer to write a letter to the company might get them to back down.

Making public statements that disparage the company could expose him to a libel suit (whether justified or not), which could add more to his legal expenses than he can afford to pay.

EpicEng
Some companies, most of them I'd wager, don't give two shits about the Twitter sphere. So he does that, possibly opens himself up to further legal action, and then... profit?

This is awful advice.

samfisher83
Or he could spend 10's of thousands of dollars and still get nothing out of it. The best legal option is not go to court.
EpicEng
Or aliens could land and take over the planet, rendering the entire thing moot. Of course any situation can go sideways, we're talking about which option is best.
auganov
If you're operating any business/website/etc that relates[0] in any manner to the potential lawsuit - take it down now. Get a lawyer to review all your doings to see if there is the slightest chance of a potential claim.

I understand how ridiculous the threat might feel. But a sufficiently angry person can cause you a lot of trouble for no good reason. It's very likely there are simple actions you could take safeguard yourself. It might save you a lot of money in the long term. And very often even the major law firms will give you amazing free advice. Don't be afraid to call the best.

[0] And I mean relate in the broadest manner. It doesn't have to actually be related. If they could convince someone with a bit of handwaving that it's related then it's related. The truth doesn't matter.

tylercubell
Why should anything be taken down before consulting a lawyer? Wouldn't doing so have the potential to make the problem worse?
auganov
mandatory IANAL; Generally suing for past infringement is going to be tougher (assuming they didn't already notarize the evidence). Of course one shouldn't permanently delete anything. I wouldn't know if it can make it worse. I was assuming a dormant website sort-of-situation (which is what I had experience with).