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Houston Lawyer Sues Middle Schoolers Over Facebook Video

By Cynthia Hsu, Esq. on June 22, 2011 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Want to be a superhero to your kids? Houston man Jason Medley probably seems like one to his daughter.

Medley is leading the fight against his daughter's alleged cyberbullies.

Who is he? A policeman? A firefighter? A noble, kind and strong man? No, he's an attorney.

Yeah, you didn't see that one coming did you?

Most law graduates come out of law school thinking they're going to make a difference in the world, become environmental attorneys, fighting for our constitutional rights, or prosecuting child abusers and murderers.

In the end, attorneys end up working for big law firms, small law firms, or medium law firms, billing hours and taking depositions for some case where you're tasked with defending an employer accused of sexually harassing an employee.

But, Medley was given the chance to step in and actually use his legal knowledge for good. His daughter was being bullied via an offensive and threatening Facebook video that was posted on the social media site by three other girls, reports the Houston Chronicle.

In response, Medley fired off a cease-and-desist letter to the girls and their parents. He also wanted them to stop all communications with his daughter and donate $5,000 to a nonprofit organization, the Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use, the Houston Chronicle reports. Medley gave the parents and the girls a deadline to respond - or else he would sue.

The girls and the parents did not respond. So, he sued.

The legal issue in the case? Defamation of character, reports the Houston Chronicle.

An unconventional way to stop cyberbullies for sure, but one that might be effective. After all, in this day and age, though bullying has gotten a lot of national attention - the lack of help that school bullying policies give to victims of bullying has been given an equal amount of attention.

Jason Medley's course of action may seem a bit unorthodox and a bit extreme to some. But, he's just following through with his parental duties and is trying to keep his daughter safe.

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