Your pictures ruined our wedding! Pay us $300,000!

[PepperElf]

http://www.petapixel.com/2012/07/24/...00000-lawsuit/

Newlywed lawyer sent the wedding photographer a letter threatening him with a lawsuit over the photos taken at the wedding.

For $300,000.

Not only that but the letter goes on to threaten the photog's reputation and livelihood, that he's going to ruin the photographer's life, force him to testify under subpoena, include the spouse and garnish her wages, and boasts about how it will cost him nothing to do this.

In fact he's gone as far as to actually send a fake lawsuit document. There's no court stamp at the bottom so as official looking as it is, it's only further intimidation.




That's not a lawsuit. That's blackmail.

[Pixilated]

Agreed. Hope the photographer doesn't just crumble, and goes straight to the local Bar Association with this. Would love to see karma bite this Entitlement Moo right in the butt.

[csquared]

This is beginning to sound like another case of Cyber Extortion.

I have to wonder if this customer is actually a lawyer. He can't seem to figure out the paperwork and coming from different law firms. It will be interesting to see what happens.

[PepperElf]

And on the update link there was a link to the photographer's FB photography page.

The photos from the wedding in question are *not* on the page (he's not putting them up on purpose). However he does have photos up from other events he's photographed.

Frankly... I'm very impressed by his work so far.


I honestly think the REAL issues are two things
1) The bride & groom are Entitlement Whores who never planned to pay him in the first place
2) They opted to do their own editing (and printing?) and fucked it up - so they're blaming him instead
3) They saw all the photos, including the "outtake" ones - meaning the ones photographers often take to check lighting or set up a shot before taking the "real" photo. Which of course is his mistake for letting them have.


The one good thing I can say is that, as Gary Fong pointed out... if the "lawyer" actually goes through and runs a REAL lawsuit it becomes something of public record.

As of right now however, both photographers are staying mum on it so that it doesn't fuck up things for fighting back.

[PepperElf]

quick update. i was bored and looked this up to see if there was ever an update.

apparently the suit was filed with the lawyer naming his wife as the plaintiff. I've seen a copy of the suit myself (it's public records now). It indeed targets both the photographer and the man's wife as "marital community composed thereof".

and it looks like the photographer is going to be using Gary Fong in the capacity of "expert witness"

Like fong, i too hope the lawyer gets hit with a countersuit.

[tropicsgoddess]

Sounds like extortion to me and I hope the photographer gets a really good lawyer to own this extorting EW couple's ass.