Harassment - false complaints

[switlikbob]

Hi...to make a long story short:

An ex-neighbor has filed a false complaint stating that I choked her son. This is most likely the result of me testifying in court on her ex-husband's behalf. My wife and the boy's father were with me at all times while I was in the presence of her son. I have retained an attorney to represent me concerning this matter. However, I want this POS to pay for what she has put me through. She has had words with me in the past year, but I have never said a word to her. I typically go in my house when she is around. Well, a few weeks ago, she showed up at my front door throwing a fit. She was basically cussing me out and screaming that " I was gay". I am happily married, and have never had a single homosexual tendency in my life. Anyway, I called the police. An officer showed up at my next door neighbor's house (she used to live there, and my neighbor is her ex-husband) with my neighbor, but she had left by that time. He had already gone to the police station because she was harassing him before she got to me. I talked to the officer to make him aware of what was going on. The next day, my wife got home from work in the afternoon. The woman was hiding around the corner waiting for my wife to get home. My wife saw the woman pull up behind her and immediately drove to the police station (1 mile away from my house). The woman followed her there. My wife ran into the police station, as the woman was yelling profanities at her, and telling her that I was gay again. My wife made a complaint to the police, and a report was made, which I have a copy of. For some reason, there was no report made concerning the call that I made the previous day (I found out that she used to clean the police chief's house - and most likely something else). The woman is going through a custody battle with my neighbor at the current time. I have found out, and have seen in writing that she has testified in court that I'm gay, I smoke marijuana, and I drink beer excessively with her ex-husband. None of these things are true. She has also told multiple people that live in my community such things.

My question is, what is my best plan of action? I want to at least recover the cost of having a lawyer represent me for the false harassment charge she has filed against me. I would also like to have her prosecuted for making a false complaint against me. And I would like to recover damages for defamation. Can I do any of these things? Is it time for me to see Stark & Stark?

[NJMom27]

You need to get it on videotape. You can get security camaras fairly cheap on ebay. I would seriously look into that because she can be charged wtih tresspassing on top of harrasement.

The other option is sell and move. As long as she is your neighbor you will always have problems. If you can get stuff on videotape or witnesses even and you decided to move you might be able to sue her for costs to move becuas ehse was harrasing you and you felt that she may do damage to your property or hurt your family.

[Eagle]

Absolutely you can sue her. But, it won't be worthwile unless you know she has some assets. It is usually a waste of time to sue someone who has no money and is a total loser. However, assuming she does have assets (or may acquire assets in the future), you can sue her in civil court for Defamation (Slander) & Intentional Infliction of Emotional distress. The type of defamtion you can sue for is Slander Per Se, which are words that indicate you committed a criminal act (smoking marijuana & choking the kid). You dont have to prove actual damages with Slander per se, as a long as you can prove she said these things to a third party then she will be liable and the jury or judge will decide money damages.

Also, if at any time she threatened to physically harm you or your wife, then she can be sued for assault. The threat could be verbal or by her physical actions.

You can also file criminal charges against her in municipal court for trespassing, stalking, harassment and disorderly persons offense. There may be some applicable municipal ordinances she violated too. You will have to look through them and see.

If you decide to file criminal charges you should do that first before you sue in civil court. The criminal conviction may be admissible in civil court and will help prove her guilt.

Also, you may want to seriously consider filing a restraining order against her (if she violates it you can get her ass thrown in jail). Call your county prosecutors office and they can tell you how to get a restraining order.

I'll post more thoughts for you as they come to mind.

[switlikbob]

Thanks for the advice everyone. This situation is in my past. The woman still comes by to drop off her kids to her ex-husband's house (my next door neighbor). We ignore each other, and there have been no more incidents. If anything, I feel sorry for her and especially her kids. They are on the fast track to many problems in their lives. As long as I remain uninvolved with that whole mess, I will be fine.

[switlikbob]

It's too bad the police didn't do anything about it...