

Ask HN: Need advice, I'm getting sued. - launchplus

I received a lawyer's letter from one of my ex-clients (back when I was doing freelancing), demanding that I pay the fees of a new contractor that they're going to hire for a project which I did not complete previously.<p>Prior to this, I had already refunded the full deposit that was paid to me, for not completing the project.<p>It is an insane amount of money, and I do not know what to do now.
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smacktoward
What you do now is get a lawyer.

Do not say one more word on the subject. Not in writing, not in public, not
even to your friends over beers, until you get a lawyer. Think of it like the
Miranda rule -- now that a legal dispute has arisen, anything you say can and
will be used by them against you.

What you shouldn't do now is panic. They've sent you a letter demanding a
large sum of money? Big deal, anyone can send a letter. It's not unusual for
people to try to bully others by having their lawyer draft a letter full of
scary-sounding language that, when parsed by a lawyer, actually says nothing.
These people hope you will read the letter, panic, and do something stupid
like trying to settle with them before talking to a lawyer.

Don't give them what they want. _Get a lawyer._

~~~
launchplus
Bad news is, I did drop them an email saying that I hope to solve this
amicably.

I suppose I should still go get a lawyer right?

~~~
smacktoward
Yes. There's nothing that says you can't settle something amicably while still
getting legal counsel. They've roped in their lawyer, now you rope in yours.

When you've found a lawyer, he/she will advise you on what to say and not say
from that point forward. In the meantime, the safest course is to say nothing
(or at least the absolute minimum you can) from now until then. If you've
already sent an email you can't take it back, obviously, so when you get a
lawyer be sure to give him/her a copy of the email (and any response you
receive) so they can advise you on how it affects your position.

Good luck!

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odddogmedia
The fact you refunded the deposit alone should clear you of any
responsibility, both financially and work-wise. Smart move there.

Ultimately this comes down to your contract with them. You did have them agree
to a contract detailing everything right??

Although some will say a contract is worth as much as the paper it's written
on (or how much one is willing to pay a prosecutor) it's still smart to
outline expectations from both sides before beginning work.

I'm curious though -- define "insane amount of money".

Also, what went wrong? Unmet expectations? Better offer come along? Burn out?

~~~
launchplus
Well, they're asking me to pay like 5 times the original amount I charged them
and this only came after like 6 months since I refunded them the deposit.

As for what went wrong, it's a case of both having a better offer (work at a
startup) and burn out from bad experiences with other clients.

~~~
odddogmedia
Hire a lawyer.

This won't hold up in court and it will only get worse if you ignore it.

Good luck!

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mchannon
IANAL.. mainly depends on your original contract, and any strings attached to
your refund.

Get an attorney, who'll probably advise you to seek an out of court
settlement, if possible.

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yashchandra
talk to a lawyer immediately. May be it is a mistake, may be they are trying
to scare you or may be it is real. In any case, get a lawyer's advice before
you take any action.

