Introduction A quick overview, with no spoilers.
1: CSI, Squirrel A rogue squirrel stirs up trouble between my neighbor and me.
2: The Property Maze Your driveway is my driveway. Literally.
3: Forgive Us Our Trespasses I sue my neighbor because she won’t stop harassing my wife and me. She sues me back.
4: Over Exposed My neighbor’s lawyer says I exposed myself while I was trespassing on her property. (Spoiler: I didn’t.)
5: Liable for Libel? According to Texas law, libel is written defamation that tends to injure a person’s reputation. So, what can I do about it?
6: Case Opened I’m assigned a case number, which means that my easement lawsuit is officially underway. (I’ll see you in court!)
7: Heading for a Hearing My lawyer schedules a hearing for a temporary injunction, so maybe we can get my neighbor to stop harassing us for a while.
8: Hearing Day My lawyer and I meet up at the courthouse to prepare for the hearing. The judge arrives, so let the games begin.
9: The TI Hearing My day in court. My lawyer shows videos of Sonia harassing my wife. Sonia’s lawyer says I’m wasting everybody’s time.
10: Lawsuit Prep Suing somebody is hard work, especially if you don’t know what you’re doing. Which I don’t. So I need to line up some resources.
11: Take It Back! I ask Tommy (my neighbor’s lawyer) to retract his accusation. Tommy insists that “exposing yourself” doesn’t mean “exposing yourself.”
12: Judgment Summary A summary judgment is probably not as painful as a summary execution, but it’s just as final. So I try to avoid it.
13: Musical Judges Either Judge Andrea Bouressa has turned into an old bald guy, or a new judge has taken over the case without anybody telling us.
14: The MSJ Hearing I’m just a spectator at this hearing, but Tommy points me out in the crowd and denigrates me to the judge just the same.
15: The DIY Libel Lawsuit I can’t afford to pay a lawyer to file a libel lawsuit, so I have to figure out how to do it myself. Here’s what I came up with.