Legal Definitions - blackmail suit

A blackmail suit is a descriptive, informal term for a lawsuit that is perceived to have been filed primarily to coerce the defendant into a settlement, rather than to genuinely seek legal redress for a legitimate wrong. In such a suit, the plaintiff's true intention is often to exploit the defendant's desire to avoid the significant costs, public scrutiny, and inconvenience associated with litigation, even if the legal claims themselves are weak, exaggerated, or without substantial merit. It suggests an improper use of the legal process to extort money or other concessions.

• Example 1: Frivolous Personal Injury Claim

  Imagine a person who trips over a slightly uneven sidewalk but suffers only a minor scrape that requires no medical attention. Despite this, they file a lawsuit against the city, claiming severe emotional distress, lost wages, and demanding a large sum of money. The city's legal department might view this as a blackmail suit because the plaintiff's primary goal appears to be leveraging the city's desire to avoid the expense and negative publicity of a trial, rather than genuinely seeking compensation for a significant injury that did not occur.

• Example 2: Disgruntled Former Employee

  Consider a former employee who was terminated for documented poor performance. After their termination, they threaten to sue their previous employer for wrongful termination, despite having little evidence to support their claim. They also hint that they will publicly disclose unverified allegations of workplace misconduct if a substantial settlement is not paid immediately. The employer might characterize this as a blackmail suit, as the former employee seems to be using the threat of litigation and reputational damage to extract money, rather than pursuing a legitimate legal claim based on actual wrongful termination.

• Example 3: High-Volume Copyright Demands

  A company owns the copyright to a generic stock photograph. They use automated software to identify hundreds of small businesses and individuals who have unknowingly used this image on their non-commercial blogs or small websites without permission. The company then sends aggressive demand letters threatening expensive lawsuits unless a disproportionately high licensing fee (far exceeding the actual value of the image or potential damages) is paid within a few days. Many recipients might perceive these as blackmail suits because the plaintiff's strategy appears to be to intimidate numerous defendants into paying settlements that are less than the cost of legal defense, rather than genuinely seeking to protect their copyright through full litigation.