Is it legal to expose a deadbeat former boss on FB and LinkedIn?

[tridim]

It's a long story, but my former boss owes me over 30 grand for past work (all under contract), and he is not paying me. I have tried using the legal system to get my money, but it simply doesn't work when the boss is hiding behind an LLC. Contracts with LLC's are worthless, lesson learned.

Anyway, this morning I sent my boss a note saying I plan to expose the whole story to his friends and colleagues unless he makes an effort to pay. I'm not going to embellish, just tell the story as it happened and provide all the proof. Up until now I haven't told his family what he did, and I'm sure he hasn't told his family.

IMO this should be 100% legal as an alternate form of legal recourse (otherwise he gets away with it completely), but I thought I'd ask here first. I'm way past the point of being able to pay a lawyer for advice. Thanks.

[mdmc]

1. awful

best of luck bro..

[GodlessBiker]

2. Truth is an absolute defense to libel and slander.

[tridim]

4. Makes sense, but then again the fact that I can't sue him makes NO sense.

Problem is, if he sues me for libel or slander, I can't afford to defend myself.

However, it would be ironic if he could afford to sue me (but not pay me what he owes).

Sigh, I guess I just have to take my chances. I don't have anything to lose now.

[katandmoon]

3. Ask yourself this: Would you rather be sorry you did this, or sorry you DIDN'T do this?

This sounds like "rather be sorry you DIDN'T do this" scenario to me.

[brewens]

5. People like that sometimes need to be reminded they live in

a real world. There are other options that I would probably resort to in a similar situation. It might not be right away, maybe not even the first few years but someone like that would pay. It would be smart for them to just pay the easy way and fork over the money.

[tridim]

6. This happened about two years ago..

So, I'm basically down to my last-resort attempts.

I imagine he's freaking out right now, because his "good" image is very important to him.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

7. You want good legal advice from a forum on the internets?

Maybe you can find a lawyer who'll work free, for a percentage of recovered money.

Good luck.

:hi:

[tridim]

8. I've already tried the lawyer thing..

They all wanted a retainer, and the all predicted I'd win the case in 5 minutes and the next day my boss would fold the LLC and I'd get nothing (and owe the lawyer about $2000).

I almost always get good advice on DU, there are several paralegals and lawyers here.

[sinkingfeeling]

9. I'm not sure that what you did is legal. Can't your ex-boss charge you with blackmail or extortion?

"American blackmail and extortion statutes, unlike those in England, usually enumerate the types of prohibited threats. The most common are: (1) the threat of personal injury; (2) the threat to injure property (whether or not such an injury is physical); (3) the threat to accuse of a crime; and (4) the threat to expose any matter that would damage personal or business reputation or would expose the victim to hatred, contempt, or ridicule."

"Because some of these prohibited threats often have legitimate uses, some jurisdictions give the threatener an affirmative defense that he genuinely believed that the property sought was due him or that he was only trying to right a wrong or obtain restitution. Other jurisdictions allow this "claim of right" defense only when the amount sought was previously ascertained, as with a preexisting debt. But some jurisdictions have not yet recognized the claim-of-right defense in any form.

Read more: Blackmail and Extortion - Blackmail And Extortion By A Private Person - Threat, Threats, Statutes, Property, Expose, and Crime http://law.jrank.org/pages/567/Blackmail-Extortion-Blackmail-extortion-by-private-person.html#ixzz12GQfubNh

[tridim]

10. Thanks for that.

Our legal system is so fucked up. Sigh..

Obviously this isn't extortion, it is money owed on a legal contract, signed by both of us.

BTW, I have an email from him saying "Don't worry, you WILL be paid because you have a contract".

[Zarya]

11. Not illegal, but you risk a libel lawsuit.

Well, this becomes a matter of first amendment rights, which I do know a little something about, because I am a journalism student.
If you are representing yourself against your old boss, a shim being an individual or a company, makes a bit of a difference.

I don't think it's illegal, but I do think you open yourself up to a libel suit, and the grounds for at least opening a suit are a lot easier than you would think.

This is my textbook definition: It is an UNTRUE FACT that is PUBLISHED about an IDENTIFIABLE PERSON that DAMAGES HIS OR HER REPUTATION and is UNPRIVILEGED.
The catch is the person bringing the suit, has to prove ALL of these, in order to win a settlement.
Published ultimately means anything that is written somewhere, so that it is read by anyone other than you, and whoever you are writing about. This even includes private e-mails, so by default a FaceBook or Linkedin post counts.
Making them identifiable is a matter of giving away just enough data, for the possibilities of their identity is sufficiently lowered down. This is tricky, some would say using your company name is enough of a giveaway, some might say you have to name your department.
You are not a public figure or person of authority, so anything you say unprivilaged.

The two points they would have to work to prove is if you damaged their reputation at all, and how much you're telling the truth. I think if you really want to make your comments, I would ignore thinking about how it would effect their reputation, and fixate, on only telling the exact truth, in no exaggerated terms. This way, you are totally safe, even if what you say causes lots of damage!