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A client asked me about my blog posting from December 3, 2008.
Her question was very relevant and deserves further explanation. I should have realized it when originally making the post but in the rush of the day it escaped me until she brought it to my attention.
The post was about a bank that had royally screwed-over a mentally and physically disabled woman.
Here's the exact wording of the paragraph in question:
"Patrick Paster's Mom, Barbara was in a horrible subprime loan with a balloon payment coming due on January 1, 2009. Barbara is disabled and was really taken advantage of by the loan officer for a bank that will remain nameless."
The question was, "Why should the bank remain nameless? If they took advantage of a disabled woman, why not call them out on it for all the world to see?"
The answer is: I've been down this road once before and was threatened with a massive lawsuit by the corporate attorneys of a very, very large bank whose name you are very familiar with if I were to name it here.
It was back in 2005 and involved my clients Jose and Andrea Sandoval. Long story short, they were receiving threatening and illegal letters from - yet another large bank whose name you would know - and I called them on it. I actually went to their local Temecula branch, confronted their branch manager and told him my client was going to sue them if they didn't back-off.
In the testimonial letter Jose and Andrea wrote me, they actually named the bank and I posted it on my website. About four months later, I not only received a letter but also a phone call from the banks corporate attorneys.
They threatened to sue my pants off if I didn't remove it from my website. I consulted with my attorney and he basically said their pockets were much deeper than mine. In other words, don't bring a knife to a gunfight.
So I reluctantly removed the name of the bank from the testimonial letter on my website, tucked my tail between my legs and moved on.
Likewise, that's why I didn't name the bank that took advantage of Barbara Paster.
I must say, though, that I'm tempted to do it again, given the nature of today's ongoing news headlines. After all, now everyone knows that they're all crooked. I bet I'd get a sympathetic jury!
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