If you have a complaint against a professional, a specialist lawyer will advise you on how to pursue it through the proper channels. However, a home owner who instead resorted to sending numerous lengthy emails to four solicitors and their colleagues was found guilty of harassment by a judge.
One of the solicitors’ clients was a housebuilder from whom the man had bought his home. He made numerous complaints about the property and other matters, all of which were rejected by the housebuilder. He subsequently sent a large number of emails to the solicitors and others with whom they worked, accusing them of deceit, fraud and other professional wrong-doing. On occasions, the recipients of the emails numbered several hundred.
The solicitors launched proceedings and were granted an interim injunction against the man. In making that order final, the Court found that it was no exaggeration to describe what he had done as a campaign. The solicitors were convinced that his allegations were unfounded and, whether or not there was any truth in them, his persistent emails could properly be characterised as harassment.
The injunction, amongst other things, forbade the man from publishing allegations that the solicitors had engaged in any criminal, unprofessional or negligent conduct. He was also restrained from contacting them or their colleagues by telephone, email, social media, text messages or otherwise. However, nothing in the order prevented him from pursuing his complaints before the courts or via professional regulatory channels.
Ward & Ors v McGovern. Case Number: HQ18M00226