{"id":3678,"date":"2004-08-29T19:21:47","date_gmt":"2004-08-29T23:21:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/formerlyknownas\/versaci-v-richie\/"},"modified":"2010-03-17T06:46:38","modified_gmt":"2010-03-17T10:46:38","slug":"versaci-v-richie","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/versaci-v-richie\/","title":{"rendered":"Versaci v. Richie"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span><span> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span><span><span><span style=\"font-size: x-small\"><em><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/cyber.law.harvard.edu\/blogs\/static\/ethicalesq\/boywriting.gif\" border=\"0\" alt=\"\" width=\"57\" height=\"45\" \/> <\/em><\/span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,Times,Serif;color: black;font-size: x-small\"><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">breathless<\/span> pundit<\/em><\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,Times,Serif;font-size: x-small\"><strong><em> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"> <\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li> <span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small\">Elderly Schenectady (NY) lawyer <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/schenectadyny.cu.myareaguide.com\/spyellow.html?top=internal&amp;fromform=dsearch&amp;qs=NY&amp;qc=Schenectady&amp;qh=&amp;qn=Romolo+Versaci&amp;x=26&amp;y=11\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small\">Romolo Versaci <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size: x-small\">has filed a $100,000 defamation suit <\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;font-size: x-small\">against Diane C. Richie, an unemployed social worker and widow with two children.<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small\"> Versaci claims &#8212; and Richie admits &#8212; that she called him a &#8220;<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.schenectadyny.info\/cgi-bin\/Blah\/Blah.pl?b=cc,m=1093686829\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small\">so-called attorney<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size: x-small\">&#8221; on a<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.schenectadyny.info\/\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small\"> SchenectadyNY.info<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size: x-small\"> message board.  You can find the message (which uses Versaci&#8217;s<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small\"> first name) <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.schenectadyny.info\/cgi-bin\/Blah\/Blah.pl?,b=cc,v=display,m=1089711044,s=59,highlight=#num59\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small\">here<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size: x-small\">, and an 08-28-04 <em>Daily Gazette<\/em><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small\"> article describing the dispute <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.schenectadyny.info\/cgi-bin\/Blah\/Blah.pl?b=cc,m=1093686829\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small\">here<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size: x-small\">).<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;font-size: x-small\">Versaci says the comment has &#8220;greatly injured&#8221; his reputation, and adds that<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;font-size: x-small\"> &#8220;<em>She&#8217;s got to stop these cutesy messages and think a little bit<\/em>.&#8221;  He has been<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;font-size: x-small\"> replaced with another lawyer in the controversy that spawned this lawsuit.<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;font-size: x-small\">Richie says, &#8220;<em>I haven&#8217;t got $100, let alone $100,000<\/em>.  I couldn&#8217;t even imagine a<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;font-size: x-small\"> judge looking at this.  It&#8217;s so stupid.&#8221;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;font-size: x-small\"><em>ethicalEsq<\/em> says: &#8220;Most days, I&#8217;d consider being called a &#8216;so-called attorney&#8217; a<\/span><span style=\"font-size: x-small\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"> compliment.<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\">&#8220;<\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small\">by the way, in his <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/schenectadyny.cu.myareaguide.com\/spyellow.html?top=internal&amp;fromform=dsearch&amp;qs=NY&amp;qc=Schenectady&amp;qh=&amp;qn=Romolo+Versaci&amp;x=26&amp;y=11\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small\">business profile<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size: x-small\">, Versaci lists <\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;font-size: x-small\">&#8220;Personal Injury&#8221; and <\/span><span style=\"font-size: x-small\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\">&#8220;Malpractice <\/span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\">Law Legal &amp; Medical&#8221; among his specialties.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: x-small\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"><strong><em>update <\/em><\/strong>(March 15, 2005): See our follow-up post\u00a0 &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/2005\/03\/15\/versacis-so-called-lawsuit-dismissed\/\">Versaci&#8217;s so-called lawsuit dismissed<\/a>&#8220;.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li> <span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,Times,Serif\"><strong>what would <span><a href=\"http:\/\/webusers.xula.edu\/dlanoue\/issa\/index.html\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,Times,Serif;color: #ff0000;font-size: x-small\">Kobayashi Issa<\/span><\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,Times,Serif;font-size: x-small\"> <\/span> think of all this?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\">on the day of departure, too<br \/>\nshe leads&#8230;<br \/>\nthe widow goose<br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"> <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"> <\/span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><em>short summer night&#8211;<br \/>\nfoolish flowers, clever flowers<br \/>\nbloom<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\">into the snake&#8217;s hole<br \/>\noh foolish<br \/>\nmouse<br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><em>accusing the pine<br \/>\nof foolishness&#8230;<br \/>\nevening mist<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"><strong><em> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/cyber.law.harvard.edu\/blogs\/static\/ethicalesq\/gumballs.gif\" border=\"0\" alt=\"\" width=\"40\" height=\"51\" \/><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;font-size: xx-small\"> &#8211;translated by <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/2004\/06\/03#a1610\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;color: #ff0000;font-size: xx-small\"><strong>David G. Lanoue<\/strong><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size: xx-small\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"> <span> <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"> <\/span><strong><em> <\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small\"><em><strong><span style=\"color: red\">Update<\/span><\/strong><\/em> (Aug. 30, 2004): At <em>Notes from the (Legal) Underground,<\/em> straight-shooter <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/riverbendlaw.typepad.com\/about.html\"><strong><span style=\"color: #42aac8;font-size: x-small\">Evan Schaffer<\/span><\/strong><\/a><span style=\"font-size: x-small\"> has weighed in, with a rather telling headline: &#8220;But Make No Mistake: The So-Called Attorney Is a Real-Life, Lawsuit-Wielding, <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.legalunderground.com\/2004\/08\/but_make_no_mis.html\"><strong><span style=\"color: #42aac8;font-size: x-small\">Good-for-Nothing Bully (IMHO)<\/span><\/strong><\/a><span style=\"font-size: x-small\">,&#8221; and a raft of Comments.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small\"><strong><em><span style=\"color: #ff0000\">Update <\/span><\/em><\/strong>(Aug. 31, 2004):  Overlawyer.com&#8217;s overlord, <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.walterolson.com\/bio.html\"><strong><span style=\"color: #42aac8;font-size: x-small\">Walter Olson<\/span><\/strong><\/a><span style=\"font-size: x-small\"> posts on <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.overlawyered.com\/archives\/001489.html\"><strong><span style=\"color: #42aac8;font-size: x-small\">His So-Called Reputation<\/span><\/strong><\/a><span style=\"font-size: x-small\">.  And,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul> <span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"> <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"><\/p>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: x-small\">On Sunday,  Federalist #84, of the <em>Crime &amp; Federalism<\/em> weblog, entered the fray, with a post entitled, <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/federalism.blogspot.com\/2004\/08\/why-dont-you-sue-me-tough-guy.html\"><strong><span style=\"color: #42aac8;font-size: x-small\">Why Don&#8217;t You Sue Me, Tough Guy <\/span><\/strong><\/a><span style=\"font-size: x-small\">.  In addition to agreeing to accept process at his L.A. law office, Fed. 84 says, &#8220;Way to carry the torch, Versaci. Way to highlight for all the United States that lawyers are good people, not sharks.&#8221; <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: x-small\">Albany, NY, appellate lawyer, <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/nylaw.typepad.com\/new_york_civil_law\/2004\/08\/schenectady_att.html\"><strong><span style=\"color: #42aac8;font-size: x-small\">Matthew Lerner covers<\/span><\/strong><\/a><span style=\"font-size: x-small\"> this tale at his weblog, <em>New York Civil Law<\/em>.  Thanks back at ya, Matthew. <\/span><\/li>\n<li> <span style=\"font-size: x-small\">And Kevin Heller mentions it, and our understandilbly <em>in<\/em>describable website, at <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.blawgchannel.com\/2004\/08\/new_york_blawge.html\"><strong><span style=\"color: #42aac8;font-size: x-small\">The Blawg Channel<\/span><\/strong><\/a><span style=\"font-size: x-small\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<p><\/span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"> <\/span><\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.legalunderground.com\/2004\/08\/but_make_no_mis.html\"><\/a><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>breathless pundit Elderly Schenectady (NY) lawyer Romolo Versaci has filed a $100,000 defamation suit against Diane C. Richie, an unemployed social worker and widow with two children. Versaci claims &#8212; and Richie admits &#8212; that she called him a &#8220;so-called attorney&#8221; on a SchenectadyNY.info message board. You can find the message (which uses Versaci&#8217;s first [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3678","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P6kP1R-Xk","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/94"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3678"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3678\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11252,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3678\/revisions\/11252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}