Jaybee said:
I am so saddened about this miscarriage of our "justice system". What a terrible loss for timesharing. I'm hoping for Karma to do its work...
It does not necessarily sound like a miscarriage of the "justice system."
1. We have a dispute resolution system, not a justice system. Our system is set up to make it so onerous to pursue matters through the end that it encourages efficient resolution of disputes. Only disputes that cannot be resolved efficiently will wind up in court.
2. It does not sound like the Timeshare Beat was completely blameless here. They accused the son of a crime -- breaking, entering and grand larceny, along with conspiracy, etc. If untrue, that is defamatory. They are not dealing with a situation where someone posted something on a BBS (where there are exceptions, so long as the owner of the BBS does not actively edit posts and remove such comments). Rather, they themselves posted the communication. And, anyone who repeats a defamatory communication is subject to defamation liability themselves. Moreover, in situations, such as this, where you are accusing someone of a crime, that person does not need to show that they were damaged to recover. The mere fact that the statement was made creates a presumption of damages.
3. There is some reference in the link to discovery, and none to a trial. Also to a default judgment. I am wondering whether the judgment was the result of failure to respond to discovery adequately, in which case the judge could have imposed a default judgment as a sanction for refusing to obey the court's orders.
4. It could very well be that the default was entered because the Timeshare Beat's lawyer was fired, and no new one was hired. A corporation cannot represent itself in court -- it needs a lawyer, or a default judgment will be entered against it. Normally, that does not happen until there is a warning and some time period lapses. If the Timeshare Beat's first lawyer was fired, then there should have been a new one already willing to take the case, or there never should have been any firing.
5. Regardless of the motives of the Plaintiffs in the case, if they had a legitimate claim, then they had a right to proceed until the conclusion of the case, and to get the relief they did. So, the mere fact that they were vindictive does not lead to a miscarriage of justice.
6. If these people were lying, there are ways to expose the lies, through depositions and good, thorough work. If the Timeshare Beat was properly run, it had insurance to cover defense and liability for defamation claims, which means that it was adequately funded throughout the litigation. I don't know whether this is the case or not, but it sounds like they were running uninsured. That is never a good idea for any business.
I don't know all of the details, and neither do you. Just remember that we are getting one side of the story from the linked webpage. You would need to hear both sides to determine whether, in fact, there was a miscarriage of justice.
