Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Pennsylvania
Is this a defamation situation worthy or legal proceedings?
I've been at my job for 1 1/2 years.
During that time, I've worked with
about 500 clients. To my knowledge,
no one has ever complained about
my service. Recently, a client treated
me poorly. She continued to do so
although I repeatedly asked her to
treat me differently. She became
upset that I refused to take her
abusive behavior and said she'd,
''have me fired.'' She then sent three
separate faxes via our office fax
machine. She was aware that I'm
not an office employee and many
other people would have the
opportunity to view the faxes. The
faxes accused me of ''harrassing and
threatening'' her, which I did not.
She also called me a ''fabricator,''
although I had not lied to her. She
also claimed to have tape recorded
our earlier telephone conversation,
for which she did not have my
permission. Also, she swore to ''have
me fired.''She met with my boss
yesterday, and he told her he would
not be firing me. She
said she ''would not stop until I'm
fired.''
He assures me I won't be fired, so
I'm not worried about this from a
work perspective. However, I work
on commission, and her harrassment
is affecting my job performance. My
boss isn't willing to ban her from our
property.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Is this a defamation situation worthy or legal proceedings?
Well, it does sound like it may be worth doing something about. I'm not so sure what you would be looking for is money damages however. It sounds to me like you just want this lady off your back. The problem with taking her to a District Judge is that it may cause you more problems at work with your boss if he isn't willing to ban her from the premises.
Re: Is this a defamation situation worthy or legal proceedings?
Possibly, ask yourself: 1) What damages can I prove? Think in monetary terms. 2) Does this person have any property that I can get a hold of if I happen to win? If you have sustained substantial damages and the person has assets then you could consider pursuing her. If you cannot prove damages or if the person have nothing to get then let it go.