On 2005-01-04 09:17:00, Anonymous wrote:
"I am an attorney and am looking into places for my son. ALA seems to be a good choice. BTW, there is a facility in this country too! Even Fornits, that bashes all programs, can't come up with much except that they once ran out of toilet paper. That has happened in my own home once or twice. Oh, and to the family of Amanda, (if you even read this, which I am not sure because I don't see any posts from you.) There does seem to be enough evidence on this sight for legal action against Paige. If for nothing else, interference with child custody and even slander. If you need an attorney, the folks at ALA will know how to get a hold of me. I would not want to even private message on this forum. From what I have read, it is not so private. However, I want to thank this forum for making me re-think sending my child to Provo or any of the WWASP facilities. And to the previous poster, you are right. Craig is quite availabe and easy to find. He is not hard to reach at all."
1. Having a case is an entirely different matter from winning it or collecting.
2. You cannot know whether or not they have a case for slander because you do not know whether any unpleasant things said about the people driving this particular metaphorical ambulance are true or not. It could well be that the "family of Amanda" has very good reasons *not* to go there. If Paige has consulted legal counsel who has actually been retained and actually has hard evidence regarding the various facts of the case, it could well be that *her* lawyer has excellent reason to feel confident---and that the adoptive parents' counsel has told them it would probably be better *not* to pursue the matter. You've seen the tip of the iceberg on Fornits. You cannot know what that particular 'berg looks like below the water line.
3. If it *did* get to court, and Paige can *document* Amanda's initial educational deficits and substantial progress since then and Amanda is thriving and states in open court that she is where she wants and wanted to be, judges are human beings. What kind of judgement would any halfway sensible person expect to get out of that situation *even if* he "won" his case?
I'm not a lawyer, this is not specific legal advice, see your own lawyer.
But the fact is, Paige *has* seen her own lawyer, and doesn't think there's a lot of reason for her to be worried.
When the other guy is confident, it's a fool's play to simply *assume* he's bluffing---he might *not* be.
Do you even know which states the parties live in?
*What if* the facts of the case are actually that a minor who was getting a gravely substandard education essentially ran away with another adult so she could get enrolled in the local public school and get a *better* education? And *what if* she's thriving educationally and Paige can *document* the improvement?
Sometimes, even when you "win" in court, you lose.
Now, maybe you're right and Amanda's adoptive parents would find an attorney to take the case on contingency and win in court and win a judgement that would be substantial in excess of attorney's fees and opportunity cost from the other ways they could spend the time they'd spend in court.
And maybe they'd even be able to collect on that judgement.
Sure, maybe you're right.
And maybe even if they have a "case" they have a real good reason for not pursuing it.
Timoclea