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- Written By: Diane Goettel
- Edited By: Bronwyn Harris
- Last Modified Date: 18 January 2012
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A cease and desist letter (also known as a C & D letter) is a legal letter that instructs a person, group, or organization to discontinue an action or program of actions that have been deemed harmful to another person, group, or organization. To “cease and desist” literally means to “stop.” Generally, a cease and desist letter is issued by a legal authority. In the instance that an individual must send a cease and desist letter, the document is usually worded by a lawyer. In fact, cease and desist letters are frequently sent as per the outcome of a trial. If a judge finds that a certain action or course of actions on the part of one party is unfairly damaging another party, he may issue a cease and desist letter in order to protect the plaintiff against further damages. There are also some government agencies that have the power to issue cease and desist letters.
Cease and desist letters are very often utilized when one party feels that they are being damaged by information that another party is circulating. For example, if an organization began publishing production guides for a patented product without consulting the patent owner, the owner would likely send a cease and desist letter to that organization. The organization publishing this information would be infringing upon the owner’s patent. After all, if the general public knew exactly how to manufacture a patented product, the owner of the patent would stand to experience a financial loss.
This is just one example of the application of a cease and desist letter. A cease and desist letter might also be applied in cases of libel, slander, copyright infringement, trademark infringement, and patent infringement as illustrated above. Furthermore, an individual who feels that he is being harassed or bullied in an ongoing basis by a group or another individual may also issue a cease and desist letter, calling for the end of such intimidation. In addition to commanding the end of a certain action or course of actions, a cease and desist letter also typically threatens legal consequences in the event that the recipient does not comply with the letter.
In the event that a cease and desist letter is not acknowledged by the recipient, further legal action will generally follow. In fact, many cease and desist letters detail the specific legal action or actions that will take place in the event that the recipient does not comply with the letter.
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anon241215
Post 18 |
I have a pair of strange men who are following me by car to various cities and locations, and I believe they may be private investigators. Could a cease and desist letter be used to keep these unwanted guests away, or would I need something more serious, like a restraining order? |
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anon226073
Post 17 |
First of all, I am a Catholic priest. I am writing because there is a female parishioner who is writing emails to me, claiming to have romantic feelings for me. I have told her to kindly stop writing to me and that I want to remain a priest. However, she has kept on sending me emails and even head pictures of herself. She hasn't been following me, but she has been harassing me through emails. What would be my course of action? Should I contact the police or an attorney? Thank you and God bless. |
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anon195483
Post 16 |
I have a car loan with a co-signer on the loan. The company I have the car loan with are sending letters every month that I am one month behind in my payments. My records prove that I am current on all payments and no money is owed. The letters seem to be harrassing me to pay them a payment I do not owe. Can I send them a cease and desist letter?
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anon181771
Post 14 |
I am looking for help. My ex wife has a book and it's been seven years that i have been going through hell because of her. She has dates in this book and when the dates come up in her book, she calls the police on me and gets me put in jail for no reason. Every long weekend she puts me in jail. This long weekend she called the police me and i was with my new wife and the police all the time believe her. i had to plead guilty for no reason. i never did anything to her. But she has ruining my life. I am flat broke because of paying lawyers to get out and have to stay in jail for something i did not do. I need help. She has a book and when that date comes up she calls the police on me. All the time I have witnesses with me but they still put me in, so i am looking for someone who can help me with this please. |
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anon167467
Post 13 |
i was working for a doctor who has a web page and he asked me and husband to be on his webpage me as his employee and my husband as a model patient, and he also asked me to talk on the phone system for the medical office which directs the callers to the right department. six months later he fired me and and i sent him a cease and desist letter almost three weeks ago and he has yet to remove my voice and our images of his practice. this is causing me problems in finding new employment what should i do? |
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anon156130
Post 12 |
what about a person that post things that are downright lies about you on facebook and then turns around tells everyone to block and delete you. even though you have proof this person is lying about you now has pretty much has turned the world against you. |
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anon144669
Post 11 |
I am not sure what category of law this comes under. This individual is actually a parent with mental disorders. Because of this person's impulsive actions, she has nearly caused some legal issues for the family which fortunately have not gotten out of hand. Also, this person has a sense of entitlement believing that someone else's assets and money belong to her to as well and the minute something does not go her way she throws a fit and does childish things (this is a 65 year old I'm talking about). Because of her behaviors, such as writing vicious letters to other people and family, demanding that certain properties and monies be shared with her, it may cause legal issues for our immediate family. How do I get her to refrain from doing this? I am willing to take any suggestions. |
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anon102614
Post 10 |
What if there is a daycare that is posting remarks about you (as a client) negatively on a local review site for possible employers/landlords etc. and the statements are untrue. I've gone through the website and they refuse to take the comments down and have not researched the information for its truth. |
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anon87792
Post 9 |
What about your friends who post pictures of your kids on the internet. You are no longer friends with them and you ask them to take the pictures down off the internet. Could I get a Cease and Desist order? |
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anon82429
Post 8 |
For you to be able to prosecute for defamation you have to prove that the things being said have in some way caused you harm or affected your well being. Say your ex spouse called your employer and told lies and got you fired from your job, or something like that. Otherwise, it's just someone talking bad about you and that is not illegal. |
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anon81470
Post 7 |
Is it possible for anyone to be a victim of innuendo slander by use of clever propaganda? For example, suppose an individual is being verbally attacked by another person who is going behind their backs spreading malicious, horrendous,and untrue remarks regarding their personal character, mental persona and virtue. Most innocent people are usually the victim of this type of unkind slander. Any suggestions? |
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sharjits
Post 6 |
A victim send a cease and desist letter to the infringer to stop the infringement of victim's rights. The letter mentions the precise particulars of infringement and how it affects the victim. It is like a pre litigation notice for discussing and remedying the grievances of the victim. |
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IWant2BLawyr
Post 4 |
From what I gather, anyone can draft a "Cease and Desist Letter" asking the person/company to cease all actions listed in the letter that are legally and morally ethical (for example you cannot ask your ex-wife to stop having a sexual relationship with Jo-Smo just because you want to.) It's pretty much a forewarning, such as letters from gas and electric companies warning they will turn off service if there isn't a payment. You are asking that this person cease all communication/harassment or whatever the case may be, and should they decide not to stop then you intend to file suit. Don't get me wrong, this should not be used for ridiculous purposes (i.e. asking the ex-wife to not eat peanut butter on Sundays) and the order should be requesting something that can be prosecuted should they continue. A judge will not fine your ex-wife for continuing to eat peanut butter on Sundays just because you sent a cease and desist order; that's ludicrous. But if the ex-wife/ex-husband is harassing you, has committed libel/slander or defamation of character then you can request a cease and desist order, showing the courts you tried to resolve this peacefully outside of the judicial process, with this being known and the actions still continue, it falls in your favor because you did make every reasonable attempt to halt their behavior but the respondent chose not to comply. From what I've witnessed, most people take this seriously and tend to not want to go to court as they perceive this as a threat. However, you must be clear on your intentions because you can very well be charged with threatening the person if your true intentions are not what is stated in the order. For example, if you state you will file a suit if the actions persist and you never intend on filing, you only want to threaten that person, that in itself is illegal, hence the numerous mentions of retaining counsel (hiring a lawyer) so you have reassurance and clarifications on the order and know you are abiding by the laws of your state. |
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comnundone
Post 3 |
I have the same scenario only it is my ex-husband of four years. And not just negative talk but outrageous lies that are hurtful to me and attack my character and moral standards. Though my adult children say they don't believe half of what he says, it is the fact that they have any doubt at all that is tearing me up inside. |
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anon18394
Post 2 |
what about x-wives that continually talk negatively about you to everyone, even your children? |
