[Asterisk-biz] A question about ethics, I suppose

[Paul]

NVC List Manager wrote:

>On Sunday 22 May 2005 10:43, Paul wrote:
>  
>
>>Steve, there are people out there without money who file unfounded
>>lawsuits. Even if you represent yourself and get it dismissed, it is a
>>drain on your time and thus your income. If Alan chooses to name him
>>publicly, I do hope that he has made some collection efforts. I try to
>>use email for collections first. If I can get an email response, it
>>often clearly indicates that the work is acceptable and the debt is
>>valid. In any case you have to make a reasonable effort to collect a
>>debt before calling somebody a deadbeat.
>>    
>>
>
>Oh absolutely. We are operating on the assumption of Alan's picture. Judging 
>only by how he communicated. Which to me shows clear _indications_ of him 
>presenting a valid picture. 
>
>  
>
I agree. It looks like Alan is the victim here.

>Not that _I_ would hesitate presenting _evidence_ in public should I feel no 
>other recourse. It's one thing to say "So and so is a bloody criminal", and 
>quite the other to say "I have unpaid invoices dating over 120 days which 
>have not been paid by so and so".
>
>As long as what you have is factual, you are not in a slanderous position. It 
>will also cost the non paying party more to do a lawsuit than just paying 
>what he will need to pay after court too. 
>
>I hear what you say, but I will NOT be taken for a ride regardless of threats 
>to go to court. Doing that is just setting yourself up for being a victim. 
>Running and hiding as soon as someone says lawsuit.
>
>It's one thing to be smart about picking your battles, another to let people 
>take undue advantage of you. Now if you have access to a lawyer, and have a 
>clear understanding of the law, the better off you are.
>  
>
I can think of 5 situations in the last 13 years that add up to about 
$20k in damages to me. I recovered less than $5k of that. I maximized 
that by not pursuing legal remedies that are actually 
non-remedies(judgements not worth the paper they are written on). The 
other $15k can be considered my tuition for the "education" I received. 
The important thing to consider is that I would have lost much more that 
$15k in revenues by wasting any more of my time trying to get the 
justice I deserved.

These were all situations where I would have been the plaintiff in any 
legal actions. I do not "run and hide" under threat of lawsuits. If 
anything, I will laugh at such threats and encourage them to file a 
lawsuit against me.

I am only trying to be helpful to Alan. The most important thing is that 
this is settled in his own mind. As long as he knows he is right, there 
should be no loss of self-esteem if he chooses not to escalate the 
situation. It is up to him to decide what is the best way to spend his 
time and money. If he decides that he makes more money from working than 
from fighting, he is no coward at all.

Sometimes, refusing to fight and just writing somebody off says it all. 
It's a way of saying "I have better things to do with my time that 
wasting it on a loser like you.".

Alan, you can count on some(probably most) of us being here as your 
friends and supporters. We don't like scammers, spammers and con 
artists. We feel very strongly about people being paid for the work they 
do. Whatever you decide, we hope that you will have quality of life and 
prosperity.