CanI sue someone for texting me after I told them not to and which has now resulted in a huge cell phone bill for me?
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CanI sue someone for texting me after I told them not to and which has now resulted in a huge cell phone bill for me?
Can I sue to get a person to pay for texting me while I was out of the country when I asked them not to? I have called and e-mailed them to request payment but they won’t respond. They texted $500 worth of texts.
Asked on August 4, 2010 under Bankruptcy Law, Virginia
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
You possibly may be able to due this. People are generally liable when they negligently (i.e. carelessly) or deliberately cause other people economic losses or damages. If you told her to not text you and she did, her actions may be negligent or deliberate. A key issue will be proof--can you document or demonstrate your instructions to her? If you can show, such as via emails, etc., that you did, you might have grounds to recover, at least for costs incurred by texting done after the date of the email (or request to not text). If you just had a verbal converation at the outset, it will be difficult to recover, since it will be difficult to prove this. Even if you had a written statement or instructions at the outset, a question may arise as to why did you not take other actions--repeatedly tell her to not text you; see if the carrier could block her, etc. (This matters because people have a duty to mitigate, or reduce or minimize, their losses.) Still, if you have some evidence of your instructions, this may be worth pursuing in small claims court.
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