Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Virginia
Cease and Desist
My husband and I are being harrassed and threatened by a man who lives in Florida but comes to VA often, as he is Power of Attorney for an elderly man I'll call George, who has been a dear friend of ours for several years. He sends us letters and calls us threatening to initiate legal action if we don't stop seeing George at the nursing home. The Florida man who I'll call Aaron, is of no relation to George. It has already been established that he has no right or power to keep George from seeing us, if that's what he wants to do, however that hasn't stopped him from browbeating and manipulating George, trying to assassinate our character to whomever will listen, and intimidating and bullying us into behaving according to his guidelines. The man is crazy, paranoid and extremely cunning, and I fear for my safety; however, he has not threatened physical harm and therefore I cannot file a claim of harrassment according to our Magistrate.
We have sent him an unofficial ''cease and desist'' letter from us to him, without court or lawyer involvement, which he immediately violated with another harrassing letter.
What can we do now legally to stop this harrassment?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Cease and Desist
Unless this troublemaker involves himself in stalking or other illegal conduct such as threatening physical harm either to you or your husband, the answer is likely, not much.
One question lurking in the background of this scenario, of course, is whether this obviously unsavory character has been abusing the POA which your friend George has given to him?
Re: Cease and Desist
One question is why does the elderly gentleman continue to allow the Florida man to hold a power of attorney? The elderly man in the nursing home could CANCEL the power of attorney at any time. All he has to do is issue a letter or document saying that he wishes to cnacel the power of attorney. It would help to have it signed in front of 2 neutral witnesses and/or a notary public.
Since you say that the florida person holding the power of attorney has no relation to the man in the nursing home, it might not be unthinkable that a family member would be more appropriate. This is all the more true because it is not convenient or practical for someone from Florida to manage the man's affairs from 1000 miles away.
If you do not feel it would violate your relationship with your friend in the nursing home "George" you might tape record your visits so that (a) the Florida man cannot accuse you of anything false and (b) your friend "George's" desire for you to see him will be evident especially if legal action takes place in the future rather than immediately, when perhaps "George" cannot speak his mind. You could even bring a court reporter in and have George state for the record what he desires.
Although you have to have a little bit of a thick skin in ignoring meaningless threats, you might be alert to where the Florida man's bad behavior crosses the line to defamation.
While I don't think you could sue for someone sending you unjustified threats of legal action, you surely can sue for defamation or libel if (a) he makes false statements about you (not opinion but false allegations of fact), and (b) these are communicated to someone other than just you.
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
