מכתב תגובה לעורך דין – כיצד להגיב על התראה שהתקבלה מעו"ד?

What is a response letter to a warning letter?

A response letter to a warning letter is a response sent after receiving a warning letter. In the vast majority of cases, the purpose of a response letter is to reject the claims or demands of the sender of the demands, or to clarify that the claim in the warning letter is incorrect or inaccurate.

It is important to know that there is no obligation to send a response letter to a lawyer, and in this article you will discover in which cases it is best to avoid sending a response.

First, it is important to understand the purpose of the warning letter.

Warning letter before Financial claim or Civil lawsuit It is not usually sent just like that and is intended to achieve some goal. Before deciding whether to send a response letter to a lawyer, or how to draft such a letter, one should try to understand the real purpose behind sending the letter. What is the sender of the letter trying to achieve?

Typically, a person sending a letter warning of legal action is interested in achieving one or more of the following goals:

1. Documentation that the sender wishes to present in court – in some cases, the letter is sent to the potential defendant only so that it can be claimed in the future that the sender of the letter tried to avoid going to court, thereby trying to get the judge to award higher legal costs at the end of the proceedings, or to avoid ruling. Legal expenses If the sender of the letter ends up losing the lawsuit.
2. The sender of the letter is trying to get you to take some action – The sender of the letter may have the goal of receiving financial compensation from you or of getting you to take a certain action. For example: If you purchased a used car from a car dealer and there is a problem with the car, it is likely that in such a situation they will send a warning letter with the goal of getting the dealer to Cancel the car deal.
3. The sender of the letter is trying to get some information from you – before you submit it. Claim It is very useful to do some preparatory work to ensure that the claim is well-founded. For this reason, the sender of the letter will try to contact the relevant party in order to obtain any information or documents that may later help him substantiate his claim. Letters of this type are common before submitting an application for approval. Class action lawsuit In this context, the class action plaintiff tries to obtain information from the company against which he is considering going to court.
4. The sender of the letter is trying to scare you into refraining from taking a certain action – the following example will illustrate the intention: Shlomi bought furniture from a large and well-known chain. Shlomi was very dissatisfied with the service or the quality of the furniture he received and informed the store owners that he intended to advertise. Negative review Wherever possible. The lawyers on behalf of the network send Shlomi a notice and inform him that if Will post a review of the business Will be filed against him/her Defamation lawsuitShlomi is very scared and does not publish any criticism.

Now that we understand the common situations in which lawyers send warning letters, we will move on and examine how to deal with them.

Is it always worth and necessary to send a response letter to a lawyer?

מכיוון שאין חובה לשלוח תגובה לא תמיד צריכים לעשות זאת בפועל. צריכים להבין כיצד התגובה משרתת את שולח התגובה ורק אז להחליט האם לשלוח אותה או כיצד לנסח את התגובה. כמו כן, צריכים לקחת בחשבון שמשלוח מכתב תגובה לעורך דין, המנוסח נכון, יצריך, לרוב, פניה לעורך דין מטעמכם על מנת שינסח את התגובה. הכנת תגובה שכזו כרוכה מן הסתם בעלות כספית (תלוי במורכבות הסוגיה אך לרוב מדובר בעלויות הנעות בין 1500 – 2500 ש"ח בתוספת מע"מ).

In cases where there is significant damage or significant consequences, it is highly recommended to consult with Experienced lawyer In the relevant field.

השימוש במונח "מ.ל.ב" במסגרת מכתב תגובה

אם אתם עונים על מכתב שנשלח מעורך דין ואתם לא מעוניינים שתגובתכם תוצג בבית המשפט עליכם לציין במסגרת המכתב את המושג "מ.ל.ב" – מבלי לפגוע בזכויות.

This is a concept used in the context of Negotiation procedures for compromise שאמורים להיות תמיד חסויים בפני בית המשפט. אם אחד הצדדים ינסה להציג מכתב המפרט הצעות פשרה, ובמיוחד אם מפורט במכתב המושג "מ.ל.ב" או "מבלי לפגוע בזכויות", ניתן יהיה לדרוש למחוק את המידע מתיק בית המשפט.

Furthermore, a lawyer who discloses information provided in settlement proceedings may find that he has committed an ethical offense, and may be subject to disciplinary action. Complaint against a lawyer To the Bar Association.

Because someone who is not a lawyer is not subject to To the rules of ethics לרוב לא תנקט נגדו סנקציה כלשהי אם הוא יעשה שימוש במכתב התראה או תגובה הכולל את המונח "מ.ל.ב". זה מאוד נפוץ במסגרת תביעה קטנה, בה משתתפים תובעים ונתבעים שאינם מיוצגים על ידי עורכי דין.

A letter of response to a request for financial compensation or to perform a specific action

If you received Letter from a lawyer (ולא מכתב מאדם שאינו עורך דין שניסח את המכתב בעצמו) הדורש מכם לשלם סכום כספי או לבצע פעולה מסוימת, הדבר עשוי להעיד שמי שכר את שירותיו של עורך הדין אכן מתכוון לפנות לבית המשפט. זוהי כמובן לא עובדה אך בדרך כלל אדם לא נוטה לשכור שירותיו של עורך דין ו"להוציא כסף מהכיס" אם הוא לא מתכוון להמשיך הלאה לבית המשפט.

In these cases, it is worth examining the demand and whether it has a basis. For example: if you caused some damage, and this is not in dispute, and you are required to pay back or compensate for the damage you caused, it may be worth considering conducting brief negotiations in order to reach agreements.

It is best to negotiate this verbally rather than sending a response letter immediately. Only if the negotiations are unsuccessful can you send a response letter detailing, for example, that you tried to reach an agreement but the sender of the letter refused because his demands were excessive and unreasonable.

A letter of response to an attempt to obtain information or documents from you

In this case too, it is not advisable to send a response letter immediately, but rather to consider whether revealing the documents could cause you any harm. It is also possible that simply confirming that the documents are in your possession could harm you in the future, because if a lawsuit is indeed filed, the plaintiff will be entitled to demand receipt of these documents as part of the proceedings. Document disclosure.

If these are documents whose disclosure would constitute Invasion of privacy, disclosure of trade secrets or will cause you other harm, there is certainly no obligation to disclose them, but in these cases it may be worth sending a response letter detailing these arguments. This may (but not necessarily) save the opposing party unnecessary applications to court.

מכתב תגובה על "ניסיון הפחדה"

In cases where the opposing party is trying to intimidate them into taking some action or refraining from taking action, it is not always advisable to send a response letter to a lawyer, especially if you are sure that you acted lawfully (if you are not sure – seek legal advice from a lawyer).

In these cases, you may write something in the response that may actually hurt you and encourage the sender of the warning letter to run and file a lawsuit.

Alternatively, you can send a response letter and ask the applicant to clarify which legal provision they believe you violated. In many cases, you will not receive a response at all because it is very possible that you did not violate any legal provision at all, but if you do receive a response, you will know precisely and specifically what to address and what the applicant's claims in court may be.

In conclusion

The purpose of a response letter is to respond to a letter received from a person or lawyer who demands you to perform a certain action, pay a certain amount of money, requests certain information from you, or is simply trying to scare you.

It is not always advisable, wise or correct to send a response letter. Sometimes the best course of action is to ignore a warning letter, but of course each case should be examined on its own merits and, if necessary, consult with an attorney experienced in the same field.

Before you decide whether or not to respond, first try to think about whether responding might hurt you, and also how sending the response might benefit you.

Frequently Asked Questions Regarding a Response Letter to a Lawyer