If someone has harassed me using their employer’s phone, can I file a lawsuit against the company and the employee?
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If someone has harassed me using their employer’s phone, can I file a lawsuit against the company and the employee?
I have filed a police report regarding harassment. An unknown individual has been calling me from a corporation phone. The HR supervisor has identified and confirmed that the employee has admitted to calling and harassing on company phone. The HR told me to file the police report against the company instead of the individual because he could not give up the name/
Asked on January 21, 2014 under Criminal Law, Illinois
Answers:
Brook Miscoski / Hurr Law Office PC
Answered 10 years ago | Contributor
I am licensed in both Illinois and Texas, although I live and practice in Texas.
Under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 224, you are allowed to file a pre-suit petition to obtain discovery of responsible parties. You would serve this upon the company in the appropriate manner to try to force the company to give up the employee's name, so that you could then sue the employee. A local attorney will know more about how to accomplish this and about any exceptions and limitations that might apply.
Finally, depending on the facts you would probably sue the company too. The company likely has more money than the employee, so it doesn't make sense to leave the company out of it if you can make a legitimate case that the company should be responsible for what its employee is doing. Again, a local attorney would probably be very helpful in determining whether a lawsuit could obtain damages.
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