If a Corporation Cheats you out of Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars by Refusing to Honor a Contract

[Time for change]

If a corporation cheats you out of hundreds of thousands of dollars by refusing to honor a contract, then if you threaten to publicly expose them if they continue to refuse to honor the contract, is that blackmail?

A few days ago I noted that in 1997 I published a book through Nova Science Publishers, Inc. and that I have a signed copy of a contract with them, yet I have never received a penny from them in the 14 years that the book has been selling.

Recently, my son determined that the book is currently being sold by at least 80 vendors throughout the world and is stocked in at least 84 libraries that he could determine, and is selling well in the UK, Japan, India, Germany, Australia, and Canada in addition to the U.S. My educated guess based on the information he’s given me is that they have sold at least a million dollars worth of my books, and probably a lot more, in which case they’d owe me at least $150,000 according to my contract.

I also noted that past repeated attempts by me to contact the company to request an accounting of my book sales were completely ignored by them. But my son wrote them an e-mail threatening to sue them last week and actually got a response from them saying that they will forward the information he gave them for action. However, I doubt very much that they will do that.

If they refuse to honor my contract, my son knows how to use social media to cause substantial harm to their reputation by publicly exposing what they have done to me. Can anyone tell me: If we threaten them with exposing their fraud unless they honor my contract, is that legally considered blackmail?

[Nye Bevan]

1. You need to talk to a lawyer.

You don't want the risk of being charged with extortion. Don't take advice from strangers on the internet; speak to a lawyer.

[Curmudgeoness]

2. I don't think I would take legal advise from DU.

I am not a lawyer, and I think that a lawyer should be the first place you go for advise on this---and it should be worth a little money to a lawyer for advise on a potential $150,000.

With that said, why did you wait so long? You may have a statute of limitations problem at this point, at least for much of this money. Now, if they are still selling the book, there may be something due you. See a lawyer.

[Time for change]

3. It's hard to say why I waited so long

Obviously it was a big mistake.

All I can say is that I didn't realize how much money was at stake, and I was afraid of pouring large sums of money into a lawyer and coming up in the red.

[Curmudgeoness]

4. Just buy an hour of a lawyer's time to see if you have a leg to stand on.

It shouldn't take longer than that to get some concrete answers. A couple hundred bucks at most.

[Time for change]

5. We intend to

But I like the idea of threatening them too.

They're a bunch of crooks.

[Curmudgeoness]

6. LOL, revenge is sweet.

But how you get the revenge can be very important. Let the lawyer threaten them.

[Time for change]

7. You may be right

My son suggested doing it, and I told him that we should find out if it's legal before he does it.

I'd love to do it -- but not if it ruins my case.

[Time for change]

8. Upon further reflection.....

I prefer to call it justice.

[Cereal Kyller]

10. I agree

That's what lawyers are for! ;-)

[Name removed]

9. Deleted message

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