Any legal advice for being sued wrongfully because I have the same name with someone else?
Question by Dazzle C: Any legal advice for being sued wrongfully because I have the same name with someone else?
I’ve been sued and served with a court summon just because I have the exact same name with someone else. I’ve already informed the plaintiff’s attorney office of the issue, yet they never respond my request to return the call. What shall I do to get myself dismiss from the case and legally clear my name from the record?
Best answer:
Answer by River Euphrates
You have two options.
Ignore the summons because you can prove that it isn’t you.
Go to court anyway – and prove that it isn’t you.
The plaintiff’s attorney will look like a retard in front of the judge, and might consider returning their calls better.
What do you think? Answer below!
You should file an answer or a motion to dismiss. You can’t simply ignore it like the other guy says, or you will be in a world of hurt.
You probably should hire a lawyer. A good one can take his fee out of the plaintiff’s hide.
Basically, somebody claims you did something, and you think you did nothing, and that the real culprit is somebody else. It sounds like you may have been the victim of identity theft.
The problem is that this isn’t so much a bar to being sued as it is a defense – “it’s somebody else’s fault” is what it comes down to, and cases like that DO go to trial.
First off, it’s never a great idea to talk directly to the other lawyers – you should have a lawyer for that. while getting your own lawyer might prove expensive, going it alone may prove even more costly.
If you must do this yourself, and can quickly and articulately explain how you CAN’T be the person who should be sued, you need to put that in your letter to the other lawyer (your question doesn’t indicate what you really told the other lawyer, or how well).
In the letter, I would include your request for the suit to be dropped and, if it’s not, your intention to countersue for damages amounting to the costs of defending against this meritless lawsuit. Then get that lawyer of your own.