Legal Question in Business Law in Washington

neighbor law?

If I offer a letter writing service to customers off a website, written to their neighbors anonymously to let them know they are causing a nuisance or are just bad neighbors, is this illegal? Can I be sued (and found guilty) as the ''messenger'' as in ''don't kill the messenger''?


Asked on 1/17/08, 9:51 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Susan Beecher Susan L. Beecher, Atty at Law

Re: neighbor law?

This business model does not seem like a sound one. I urge you to let your creative side continue to work and come up with some other business idea.

It is laced with legal risks to you. Anonymous letters can seem very threatening, just by the fact that the sender does not reveal him- or herself. Being involved with that puts you in a legally touchy spot. Criminal law is not my area, but I suspect this plan has problems. Further, in your plan, people would essentially be paying you for anonymity. Yet, by using your proposed service, they make it possible for the recipient to learn their identity. A court order would give you the option of disclosing the sender's identity or facing the consequences of being in contempt of court. How much will you need to charge to compensate for taking that risk? I think people will be unlikely to pay it, considering that a letter saying, "You're a bad neighbor" necessarily comes from one of a limited pool of suspects, so the sender would not likely be anonymous in any case.

Part of being a good business person is knowing which ideas have potential and which are not viable. Throw this one back and keep trying.

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Answered on 1/17/08, 11:34 pm


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