JonMon lawsuit

[moechus.livejournal.com]

I have offered my help to a couple of people involved and earlier this evening I attended a meeting with a few people. I thought I should make my offer public to anyone who is involved. Feel free to contact me. In particular, if you got one of those obnoxious letters offering to settle, I would be happy to write a response to his lawyer (where I think the response should go, because I suspect his lawyer is unaware of these letters and they are highly improper).

By the way, I am a lawyer.

Comments

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

Thanks for this.

Mostly, though, I think what we need is a headcount. As I can attest, because despite being named multiple times in the suit I have yet to receive a letter, Jonmon is extremely inconsistent with who he's sending these letters to.

So, check in, folks. If you got a letter, let us know here.

[oneagain.livejournal.com]

You rock, sir.

[also-huey.livejournal.com]

"On information and belief, Jonmon is a big poopy-pants" ?

[infinitemorning.livejournal.com]

I'm currently waiting to see if this whole suit will be thrown out of court once Ron and whatever counsel he's able to find muster a response, but I may well take you up on that. I received a letter on Saturday, but do not believe for a second that anything I've said is remotely actionable. Thank you, either way, for stepping forward.

[lizzielizzie.livejournal.com]

What infinitemorning said. Every single word applies to me as well.

And yes, thank you so very very much for stepping forward! I have been very concerned about Ron getting proper counsel.

[moechus.livejournal.com]

On my drive home this evening, I found myself composing a possible response to the letters. It would go something like this:

Dear Sir,

I am writing on behalf of a number of recipients of letters from your client concerning his lawsuit against Ron Newman and unnamed others (N.B. I do not represent Mr. Newman). A copy of several is enclosed [with the recipients name blacked out] so that you can get an idea of their tone and content. I understand that he has written many similar letters.

Some of the recipients were indeed posters to the livejournal threads referenced in the complaint; some were not. It does not matter. As you can see, these letters are highly improper; they are attempts to gain through intimidation and threats what he should be attempting to gain through the proper legal process (though I am highly doubtful of his chances for success). I am therefore confident that Mr. Monsarrat is doing this on his own without legal advice and without the knowledge of his counsel. And I thought it best to bring your client's actions to your attention. I trust that you will see to it that your client writes no more such letters.If Mr. Monsarrat has legitimate claims, he is free to bring them in court; only be certain that they will be met with a vigorous and comprehensive defense.

Sincerely, etc.

[ron_newman]

This, of course, will need to go to both his North Carolina lawyer and his Boston lawyer. (Why he has two, I do not know.)

[miss-chance.livejournal.com]

Nice!

One of the things I learned to appreciate from my mother, who was a lawyer and a law professor, was that when a crazy persons "threatens" legal action against you this is usually a blessing. You get a lawyer to go and be sane with their lawyer, and the whole thing is in the hands of professionals. And whenever they try to talk to you directly, you now have their lawyer to go to instead and you no longer have to deal with the crazy person. [It's no fun for your lawyer if the crazy person has found crazy council, but at least there's a ritualized framework for the interactions.]

I do hope that Monsarrat finds appropriate treatment before his damage drives him to violence against others or himself. In the mean time he's leaving a breadcrumb trail to the depths of his disorders. They might someday aid mental health professionals in helping him back from it.

If I get a mystery letter, I'll be sure to contact you. Thank you.

[contradictacat.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! The only way I knew I was named in the suit/received a letter was through the kindness of my friends, since I'm currently living in China.

[myselftheliar.livejournal.com]

I received a letter and am fairly concerned, as I have been receiving phonecalls from an "blocked" number for days now. I am unsure what I should be doing.

[real-green-tea.livejournal.com]

Very much this.
(In its own way it is a blessing if the entire matter is handled legally. Not that this would happen, but, far worse if the perceived 'bullying' [via alleged defamation] were to be attempted to be resolved through some sort of vigilantism.)

I do hope moechus has precautions in place to protect his whereabouts. If the amounts suggested for the settlement are any indication, the party intending prosecution or settlement may not be happy when he garners neither.

[hahathor.livejournal.com]

Ditto me except that I got my letter yesterday (and it's dated Monday May 6). Since I wasn't involved in the LJ thread, this one takes me to task for a mix I posted to Zenrunningorder.com over three years ago, which doesn't mention him by name, but does point to the article that sparked all this, and a comment pointing to that mix in one of the recent threads (my comment also doesn't mention him by name).

Thanks you moechus.

[gingicat]

And for those who have not met you, I would like to say that you are one of the kindest and most competent people I have ever met, and I am glad you've stepped forward.

[cnoocy]

I have received a letter.

[jikamens.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

[molyflogs.livejournal.com]

It's because his NC attorney isn't allowed to practice in MA, so he also has a MA attorney to "supervise" the NC attorney, making it ok for the NC attorney to practice in MA.

[srakkt.livejournal.com]

You're doing what you should be doing. Don't respond to JonMon, and wait.

If your fear gets the better of you, take moechus up on his advice, and have a lawyer, possibly even moechus send a letter to *his* lawyer. It's highly distasteful to deal with this turd directly under ordinary circumstances. In these circumstances, it's most proper to let the legal process handle it.

[molyflogs.livejournal.com]

Is JonMon mentally ill? this crazy lawsuit mess has some red flags that make me wonder. I know he's creepy. He was quite leery and emitted a strong creepy vibe when I crossed paths with him a couple years ago, but it occurs to me that he might be just straight up ill.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

Yes, he is. He helped beowabbit and I find an accident lawyer when we were hit by a drunk driver recently. Plus, he's just a very good person in general.

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

Maybe it's just my anxiety disorder acting up again, but I'm uneasy with the idea that somebody who behaves badly enough must therefore be mentally ill. Sure, Jonmon has shown all along that he is not wise or sensible. He's shown all along that he doesn't respect people's boundaries. There's a difference between not seeing a boundary, and trying to slide past it. He's not making completely wild attacks on whoever happens to be standing next to him--he's making deliberate attacks on people he believes to be vulnerable. That's not crazy, it's just mean.

[molyflogs.livejournal.com]

That's a fair criticism. I read the lawsuit and one of my concerns is his attempt to make connections where none exist and, yes, his creepy behavior. Maybe he's just a creepy guy with an attorney who should be embarrassed for filing this suit.

[jikamens.livejournal.com]

Just out of curiosity, has he sent his threat letters to both men and women, or just women? I've seen a lot of women saying they've received them, but I don't recall whether any of the postings I've seen have been from men.

I am asking because it seems to me, also, that he's going after vulnerable people, and given what his character seems to me, it wouldn't surprise me at all if he puts women into the "vulnerable" category more so than men.

I suppose it's also possible that because of his previous conduct toward women, they tend to talk about him critically on-line more than men. Those of us men who are not creeps don't like creepy men any more than the women do, but there's no getting around the fact that there's a certain kind of creepy behavior that impacts women more, and more viscerally, than men. *sigh*

The answer to this question may be obvious to the folks who have hung out here for a long time. I'm not an active member of this community -- I've never lived in Somerville and just ended up here because I find JonMon's actions so appalling and want to keep following the story both because it is fascinating, in a can't-not-stare-at-the-car-accident sort of way, and in case there's something I can do to help.

[jmwolman.livejournal.com]

moechus, I have been contacted as well and I would be happy to coordinate with you. That said, please refrain from discussing strategy in a non-privileged forum.
ron_newman, funny thing about that North Carolina lawyer--according to the docket, as of this morning, he still has not moved to appear pro hac vice. If you have retained counsel, you may want to let your lawyer know.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

Re: The blocked numbers. I'd contact the phone company. The numbers are "blocked" to you, but not to them. They may be able to confirm that they're from the same number and even who owns the number.

Also, if it's a cell phone, you can take that to the police, the police can go to the carrier and BOOM! No cell phone.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

Well, Cos and Ron Newman got one, and I know at least one other man has received an email. So I don't think it's limited to women, but the preponderance of the letters do seem to be arriving to them.

If I had to guess, he's using a "background check" type website for his legwork that collects public records to find the names he doesn't recognize. Apparently a lot of his data comes from voter registration records and the like. A lot of them let you subscribe monthly for a flat fee. Considering that he's not hiring a constable or sending them registered mail...