A string of legal fees that stemmed from a single Facebook post might leave Matthew and Annette Palmer from Sydney, Australia bankrupt. Their legal battles, however, will not stop anytime soon as their opponent is still seeking ways to have Mr. Palmer indicted for perjury.
According to Yahoo, the issue began with a Facebook post of a warning to citizens of Nader Mohareb who was described as "a highly volatile individual, prone to manic outbursts ... often abusive and threatening, particularly towards women and children" and "known to police".
The post began as a complaint against Mohareb's "agitated and highly excitable". King Charles spaniels spawned a legal battle between him and the Palmers to which he argued that the post made him a social pariah.
A solution was initially thought to have ended the issue with a settlement and a post of an apology letter to the Scotland Island Community Facebook page. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, everything was followed and the Palmers posted their apology on the page.
However, the page's administrator did not know about the apology as a condition in a court case and immediately took down the post. The legal battle continued when Mohareb accused Mr. Palmer of perjury and asked for the court's permission to have him personally prosecuted.
Mohareb has brought his appeal to several courts by representing himself but, as of yet, has failed to get the courts to agree with his requests. But aside from Mohareb, the Palmers revealed that the lawsuits have also been affecting their finances greatly.
As reported by 9News, Mr. Palmer admitted that they are currently facing $80,000 in legal debt and are now unable to finance their next legal battle with Mohareb. Mr. Palmer said that the "crusade by Mr Mohareb has bankrupted my family and I have no means to defend his latest appeal" he stated.
Despite his inability to convince the court of Mr. Palmer's perjury case, Mohareb revealed that he is to file a notice of intention to appeal in the Court of Appeal. Mohareb is expected to appear in court next on June 4.