suit for intention infliction of emotional distress (fees, settlement, accept)

[satch]

I am seriously considering a lawsuit against my condo board and management firm for the "intentional infliction of emotional distress." My wife and I have been suffering badly because of their actions and both of my doctors say they will support my claim by appearing in court and/or writing a notarized letter.

However my question is: how does one determine that there was an "intentional" infliction of distress?? I mean, it's not as if anyone said 'I intend to inflict distress on you.'

In general, can intention be inferred from the actions or behavior of another organization? (not enough room here to go into the specifics of my case..)

Thanks

[Aluz]

forget it pal you can't 'infer'[ stuff from their actions. Your dead in the water

I suggest just dont repeat whatever you did to **** of the condo board

[Fighter 1]

Originally Posted by Aluz

forget it pal you can't 'infer'[ stuff from their actions. Your dead in the water

I suggest just dont repeat whatever you did to **** of the condo board

First let me say that i am NOT an Attorney , althou i did spend 3 1/2 years defending my self against in a suit against the city I lived in at the time . During that time I spent many hours in court. Some of what I heard was the following as it relates to your case . One person went on trial for what the DA"s office in the complaint stated was the following . The Defendant did knowingly and willingly buy and sell stolen vehicles. Within minute's the Judge was dismissing their action against the man , WHY??? because the defendant's Attorney asked several questions of the DA. They were, what proof can you give the court as to what the defendant was thinking at the time he took posission of the vehicles stated herein . She stated she had no physical proof but that the defendant should have known by the price he was paying for the discribed vehicles that they might be stolen . The Judge came back with the question. So you are telling this court that you have NO physicle proof to support you statements in the complaint? she said yes and the Judge followed with Case Dismissed. Your case appears to be simular, you have no physical proof of their intentions you only think ! What education do you have in that area??. You have no way of knowing what they were thinking of or what their intentions were. as stated above your dead on this case accept what they have done and move on to the next fight .

[sbhubbell]

Please don't. It is so not worth the time, frustration, or MONEY it would cost you do that. As someone who has been a defendent in a frivelous lawsuit that had no base in reality I can tell you it's just NOT worth it. The suit cost me $300,000...and I WON. I had no money left to counter-sue for legal expenses or emotional distress which they intentionally caused me. I'm sure it cost them at least as much money and they walked away with nothing but a waste of 8 months of precious time.

[Tone509]

As this topic is not so much about Philadelphia as it is about real estate, I've moved it to the Real Estate forum.

To the OP, best of luck to you and your wife in resolving your situation.

[Austin-Willy]

Generally speaking, intent can be inferred from actions. Otherwise how would anyone ever get convicted of murder, for example, unless they confessed. Murder usually requires an intent to kill. It is quite the exceptional case when a murder defendant admits to intent (I was trying to shoot over his head to scare him!). But that doesn't keep courts and juries from finding that the perp had the intent.

Nonetheless, I would suggest that a case based solely on emotional distress would probably be a very tough nut to crack. In fact, in some jurisdictions, if I remember correctly, intentional infliction of ED is only available if it goes along with other physical damages. Good luck with whatever you decide.

[IC_deLight]

Originally Posted by Austin-Willy

Generally speaking, intent can be inferred from actions. Otherwise how would anyone ever get convicted of murder, for example, unless they confessed. Murder usually requires an intent to kill. It is quite the exceptional case when a murder defendant admits to intent (I was trying to shoot over his head to scare him!). But that doesn't keep courts and juries from finding that the perp had the intent.

Nonetheless, I would suggest that a case based solely on emotional distress would probably be a very tough nut to crack. In fact, in some jurisdictions, if I remember correctly, intentional infliction of ED is only available if it goes along with other physical damages. Good luck with whatever you decide.

Murder only requires a reckless state of mind - like firing a gun into a household and recklessly disregarded the risk of death or bodily harm. However, this is really an HOA issue and unfortunately in most jurisdictions the ONLY remedy you have (which Realtors love) is moving. You will be gvien suggestions like "follow the rules", etc. but anyone who has experienced this realizes that the Board is free to makeup whatever "rules" it wants as well as to interpret "rules" in any way it wants. Also the ability to act without any personal consequences while being fueled by an insurance defense policy and ego attracts some real sociopaths to the HOA Board. Apparently any action can be justified under the myth of preserving property values or the myth that you "chose" this by moving in.

You may have some remedy but it will be very specific to your state and possibily dependent upon HOA-specific laws which have been written by the industry that profits from this chaos to ensure that you will have virtually no protection whatsoever. They profit from the abuse and you won't be able to talk about it if you want to try to sell your home. Pretty insidious, eh?

Can you identify your state and the name of the management company involved as well as confirm whether you are in a condo or a non-condo (there are usually HOA laws specific to condos that are different for single family homes)?

[goodbyehollywood]

I doubt you'll find an attorney to take your case, unless you pay them a big retainer upfront. Then you'll have to pay for depositions, forensics, etc., out-of-pocket. Their experts would refute, and likely trump, your experts.

It's extremely unlikely you would win and if you lose, they'd come after you for their costs. I doubt they'd offer you any settlement or "go away" money, and if they did, it would be far below your costs. From a legal and financial standpoint, it's a loser of a case. Sorry. Your best bet is to move on.

[Austin-Willy]

Originally Posted by IC_deLight

Murder only requires a reckless state of mind...

The exact state of mind is not the point. The point is that it requires a particular state of mind, and that defendants are often convicted of having that state of mind based on evidence other than their admission as to their state of mind, in other words their actions.

[StaffSgt]

Originally Posted by satch

I am seriously considering a lawsuit against my condo board and management firm for the "intentional infliction of emotional distress." My wife and I have been suffering badly because of their actions and both of my doctors say they will support my claim by appearing in court and/or writing a notarized letter.

However my question is: how does one determine that there was an "intentional" infliction of distress?? I mean, it's not as if anyone said 'I intend to inflict distress on you.'

In general, can intention be inferred from the actions or behavior of another organization? (not enough room here to go into the specifics of my case..)

Thanks

Good luck. I hope you have deep pockets because with our pay-to-play justice system it's gonna cost you a pretty penny to litigate this matter in civil court. Your attorney will want his/her fees up front and the charges for expert witnesses testimony alone can easily bankrupt the average person.

Oh and you better win after all that, otherwise all your out of pocket expenses will have been a total loss. AND you'll still be stuck with your HOA's revenge.