What is a demand letter?
If someone believes that you have violated a contract or violated certain civil areas of law, that person must send you a demand letter notifying you of such position before the initiate a lawsuit. The length of time between the letter being sent and the lawsuit being filed depends on the type of claim. For example, the Texas Deceptive Trade Practice Act (DTPA) requires that written notice be sent to the future defendant at least sixty (60) days before a lawsuit is filed.
Very broadly speaking, this letter will tell you (1) what action you have taken that they believe was wrong; (2) how the other side has been damaged by your actions; (3) a demand that you stop acting in that manner; and (4) a demand for return property in some form or fashion, or payment of funds to the complaining party – aka the future plaintiff.
Most importantly, the letter will usually direct you to respond confirming certain information and/or explaining why you did what you did. It is very important that you do not respond to this letter yourself.
First Things First: Call Your Lawyer
If you are receiving a demand letter of this nature, there has already been a meeting between the folks who want to sue you and their lawyer to determine whether they have a reasonable basis to pursue a lawsuit against you. This would have involved reviewing documents, gathering facts, and calculating damages to determine whether or not it is worth it to send the demand letter in the first place. Note: this does not mean the future plaintiff and lawyer are right about what you did or the resulting claims they are threatening. It just means they collectively decided it was worth the time and expense of initiating the legal process against you.
Do not try to respond to this letter yourself. You do not know the elements or factors relating to the claims being made against you. You do not know evidentiary standards to understand (a) whether what is stated in the letter can actually be used in Court, or (b) what facts/documents you can use to defend yourself. You do not know what land mines you are falling on by making a basic statement in writing. AI generators and ChatGPT cannot help you here, do not even try it.
Leave this to the lawyer who knows how to make a case and defend a case of this nature. The lawyer will know what information to reveal and what to hold for use later, and how to phrase things or protect things in writing so they are not used against you later. A phone app or computer bot cannot gauge the proper law for the proper state while considering all facts and circumstances. General online research cannot do this, either.
What Next?
Put together timelines and information for the initial meeting with your lawyer. Do not under any circumstance delete emails, pictures, text messages, or anything else relating to the claims at issue in the letter. With forensic experts and technology breadcrumbs, you will regret trying to hide the data that you think may hurt your case. Be honest about these things with your attorney. If your attorney knows about a problematic email or text, the attorney can prepare for how it will be used and prepare you for questions about it. If not, and this shows up during a hearing, your attorney and you will be left stranded.
Review the letter and take notes on what is and is not accurate. Do not upload the letter to an app or website, and ask AI to evaluate this for you. Again, this is not going to help you. Furthermore, a lot of these platforms are not private or protected by privilege. The person who wants to sue you can send a discovery request during the lawsuit to see everything you put into chat, including emails or memos it prepared for you.
Last Thought
The internet and AI generated responses make it seem like you have the tools to respond to an attorney on your own. While wanting to be informed is great, you need to be careful – you are dabbling in something that a lawyer has been doing for years, if not decades. What you put on paper can and will be used against you. To bring in more caution, avoid phone calls from the lawyer as well and tell them you are seeking legal counsel of your own. Texas law allows for recording of conversations, even if the lawyer does not tell you they are recording (subject to debt collector rules).
Contacting a lawyer does not guarantee that you can avoid the threats in the letter you received, but it does ensure you do not accidentally or inadvertently make things much harder on yourself thereafter.
Should you find yourself reading a demand letter, cease and desist letter, notice of breach, etc., contact the attorneys at Yale, Weaver & Phillips immediately. Let our team handle the deadlines, the responses, the preparations, and all – 940-891-4800 ext. 4.
