Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Pennsylvania
Which State to file a small claims suite in
My Husbands ex-wife lives in PA and we live in TX. She wrote a letter to the editor of the newspaper in PA stating all kinds of lies about me including that I abused her daughter and locked her in a closet. Also, she is always telling the kids lies and she leaves really nasty messages on our phones and writes us nasty letters telling my husband all kinds of lies about me. If I wanted to pursue a small claims suite against her for defamation of character and harrassment can I file it in Texas since she is calling a TX number and writing lies to a TX address or do I have to file it in the state of PA where she lives?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Which State to file a small claims suite in
First, harassment is a criminal offense rather than a civil offense. Chances are your local District Attorney would not spend the money required to extradite her to Texas. If you wish to spend the money to go to Pennsylvania you could go to the DA of the county she lives in and file a private criminal complaint. Second, unless the publication is distributed in Texas jurisdiction for a civil case would either be her home county or the county the newspaper is published in, meaning you would have to file suit in Pennsylvania. I offer free consultations.
Re: Which State to file a small claims suite in
You have both a criminal matter of harassment, as well as a civil matter involving the defamation. Why would a newspaper publish a letter about a personal matter between her and you? With regard to the defamation, you would file wherever the newspaper is, or her home county, or any county in which the newspaper has circulation. You may also have a suit against the newspaper, depending on the circumstances.
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