Who is the court savvy woman?

[daycarediva]

I NEED YOUR HELP! Or anyone else with ANY input that could be helpful.

My acquaintance/stalker/stealer of my materials is back up to her old tricks. I want to take her to court. I filed before but backed out since she removed everything. She now has my entire handbook on her website.

I want to file a civil suit, correct? Can I get monetary damages from this? I haven't lost income (that I am aware of).

I also have it all printed, with dates from then and now including the slanderous post she put up on craigslist with a map to my property printed.

So over this crazy chick. Help me nail her to the wall.

[MarinaVanessa]

I NEED YOUR HELP! Or anyone else with ANY input that could be helpful.

My acquaintance/stalker/stealer of my materials is back up to her old tricks. I want to take her to court. I filed before but backed out since she removed everything. She now has my entire handbook on her website.

I want to file a civil suit, correct? Can I get monetary damages from this? I haven't lost income (that I am aware of).

I also have it all printed, with dates from then and now including the slanderous post she put up on craigslist with a map to my property printed.

So over this crazy chick. Help me nail her to the wall.

Oh, jeez. I'm not sure about what proper steps you'll need but can you talk to a lawyer and see if they'll do a free consult? If they think you have a case you can sue for the legal and lawyer fees.

Maybe you can get a restraining order and a court order that tells her to not use your paperwork and materials.

[missy]

One thing nice about civil suits---you dont pay a dime unless they get money for you!! So I would suggest calling a couple civil law firms in your area. You have probably heard their cheesy commercials and ads.... but they will tell you if you have a winnable case or not. If not then you can always go the small claims route, which isnt exactly winning the lottery but will get the problem resolved and a point made.

Is the info of yours copyrighted? If not I would look into that right away since it is an ongoing thing. I dont think it costs much because I see small businesses using the copyright symbol on logos and slogans and things all the time.

[NoMoreJuice!]

I had an issue with slander a few years ago...the best advice I got from my surveyor and all attorneys I had contacted was to just move on and keep running my business in a legitimate way. There's very little they can do (sorry if that's discouraging!) it's a long, difficult process that could end in nothing.

But it never hurts to consult an attorney and get their opinion. I don't know the details of your case, but I do know that parents recognize an honest person who runs a reputable business vs. a scam artist. Good luck!

[Laurel]

One thing nice about civil suits---you dont pay a dime unless they get money for you!! So I would suggest calling a couple civil law firms in your area. You have probably heard their cheesy commercials and ads.... but they will tell you if you have a winnable case or not. If not then you can always go the small claims route, which isnt exactly winning the lottery but will get the problem resolved and a point made.

Is the info of yours copyrighted? If not I would look into that right away since it is an ongoing thing. I dont think it costs much because I see small businesses using the copyright symbol on logos and slogans and things all the time.

I have done some writing and I was told (not by a professional but some writing site that has many published authors) that once you post something on the internet it is considered copyrighted to you. That would be if I posted a story. I would imagine a handbook would be the same but best for OP to check into that too.

Laurel

[Laurel]

I did small claims court but not for daycare. I did it for an minor auto wreck with a guy that didn't have insurance, was at fault, and damaged my car. I won. I thought doing small claims was a good way to go for something that wasn't criminal because it seems more personal and you don't feel like just a number. It seems like you get more attention and they cared more about your particular case. It wasn't like they were just listening but not really listening and just rubber stamping things like in some larger court proceedings.

Just an observation.

Laurel