Houston Lawyer Sues Daughter’s Cyber-Bullies, And Wins In Court

Here’s a sure fire way to get a cyber-bully’s attention.  Sue them for defamation.  That’s what a Houston lawyer has done.  He sued the school girls who posted a nasty video about his daughter on Facebook.  It worked.

The lawsuit says three students at Riverwood Middle School in Kingwood video taped themselves saying nasty things about the lawyer’s daughter, and they uploaded the video to Facebook.

The targeted girl’s father, attorney Jason Medley, sent cease-and-desist demands to all three girls and their parents, saying he would sue them if they didn’t stop the abuse.

When he got no response, Medley filed a defamation of character lawsuit against all three girls, accusing them of threatening his daughter with physical harm and making false and defamatory statements that “impute sexual impropriety and misconduct” on his daughter.

The suit asks for a permanent injunction to prevent them from contacting her again, and asks the court to order the girls’ parents to donate $5,000 dollars each to the non-profit Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use.

The lawsuit hasn’t even come up in court yet, but the young bullies have already given up.  It’s reported that they’ve made tearful apologies to everyone involved and promised they’ll never do this again.

via Dad hits accused cyberbullies with lawsuit | Houston & Texas News | Chron.com – Houston Chronicle.

Nancy Willard, founder and executive director of the Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use, thinks Medley’s lawsuit is “a very novel approach”. Willard says Medley is clearly trying to be the kind of parent the other girls apparently don’t have.

She says young people must know that what they do online can cause harm to others.  Forcing legal consequences on them lets them know they’ve crossed the line and they’re going to be held accountable.