Should I let the other attorney see my IRS records for the last 10 years?
I am involved in a sexual harassment case and the opposing attorney wants my work history for the last ten years. Should I let him have them? He also wants my S.S. records.
I don’t have a great work history because I have been a stay at home mom almost for the entire ten years. I would work for a few months and then stay at home, work a few months, stay at home. I have only made about $25,000 in ten years. I have a husband, so he has always supported us.
I don’t have any write-ups nor have I ever filed any kind of a lawsuit claim.
Do you think I should fight this, or just let them have what they are asking for.
I do have an attorney, just am curious for other opinions.
We don’t have the information either – for the “discovery” comment. So we don’t have to share.
I have talked with my attorney and he says that we can just give it to them or make them file to try and get it. I know that part of the reason they are trying to get it is because I have a wage claim. I made about $15,000 in the 9 months that I woked there and had gone to school specifically for that job. I loved my job and had plans to stay for years.
Tagged with: 9 Months • Sexual Harassment Case • Stay At Home • Work History
Filed under: Attorney FAQ
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You have to. It’s called “discovery”. They have to have the same information as your side does.
Give him a bag of Funyuns.
Your past work history has no baring on your present case. Don’t give it to him.
So you want a nice, fat settlement no questions asked? Sorry, sometimes that works, but it doesn’t look like it will here.
You do not have to keep records 10 years.
The attorney should know better.
Never give information to ANYONE unless it is for your own benefit. Don’t let them talk you into it unless your lawyer says it’s better for YOU. And if he says that it is then he had better be able to explain WHY.
It seems a bit strange to need your IRS papers for a sexual harassment case. The case deals with the person bothering you while at work/home, it shouldn’t have anything to do with your working habits and what you make income wise.
Instead of giving away needless information to your attorneys, who don’t need them, tell them they need to focus on the case. The case is that you’re getting harassed at work, and not how much you’re making. If they insist, I suggest looking elsewhere. Your income should have nothing to do with what the other guy is doing.
Ask your attorney. Some jurisdictions recognize a privilege for certain kinds of financial information. Although I’m guessing that your lawsuit involves a wage claim for future income? In which case, the other attorney will most likely be entitled to those returns for the purpose of establishing your wage earning history.
As far as your SS records, that’s a different beast. Every state has a varying degree of protection on these records, so you may or may not have to produce them.
The bottom line is that the best person to ask is your attorney. He/she will be familiar with the law in this area and will know what you do and do not have to produce. Leave it up to them to worry about.
Edit: Michelob86 may not have given a popular answer based on the other responses I’m seeing here, but its accurate. Discovery is not optional in civil lawsuits. You don’t get to personally decide which requests you want to ignore and which you will comply with. You run the risk of being subjected to court sanctions if you fail to properly comply with discovery requests. If YOUR attorney tells you that you need to turn over those documents, you need to do that.
Edit 2: It doesn’t matter if you currently have the information or not. If you can get it, you have to provide it. Otherwise every person in every lawsuit would throw out all the incriminating documents and then just claim “I don’t have it, so I can’t give it to you.”
If its a valid request, you have to comply. Even if that means you have to go out and request those documents from somewhere else.
If you have an attorney and this is part of discovery then your attorney should have already told you that you don’t have a choice. Or you have to at least have them available for review at your attorney’s office.
They’re going to say that you haven’t made much in the last 10 yrs and that you’re suing in hopes of a work-free payday.
Discovery. You have to. But I don’t see how your tax returns are relevant to a sexual harassment case. Maybe you should ask your attorney about relevancy here. Good luck.
It has been my experience that if I have nothing to hide, and I have nothing to lose then I would open my records to the other side.
If, on the other hand they are trying to get me locked, up, or to get money from me, I would make them work their ***** off to get my records. They stand to profit and I stand to lose; then, I am fighting to the death.
If you are not the one accused and cannot be held accountable then you might let them see them.
I would make him show just cause for seeing my SS records.
What does your attorney say about this? I think he shoulc challenge the motion for these documents in the discovery phase.
I don’t understand why they would need this
absolutely not! never give an opposing attorney anything that your attorney has not approved of. talk to your attorney asap! refer all future calls and correspondence to your own attorney and never say anything to the opposing attorney!
You should only do what YOUR attorney recommends.
Why would you do what the “other” attorney wants? If he really wants it then he could go through the court/legal system to get permisssion to get your records.
And whenever that attorney bothers you again, just tell him your are being represented by an attorney and he should direct the call to whomever is representing you.
Good Luck!
Only deal with your attorney – if your attorney requests the docs then pass them on – if not then don’t. Consult with your attorney that is what you pay him for.
No you do not have to show him/her
any of those records…
They have Nothing to do with a Sexual
Harassment case…
He just wants to go fishing…and to
try and figure out what type of money
he can settle this case for.
But be aware if you have been envolved
in this type of Law Suit before you are in
big trouble…and may end up behind bars…
Don’t you have your own attorney who can explain “discovery” to you?
The other party is entitled to any information you have that is relevant to claims or defenses of the cause of action. If you are claiming that you have lost such-and-such amount of income due to this sexual harassment, then your past earnings, as evidenced by your tax returns, are certainly relevant to determining exactly how much income you indeed lost.
If you are not pleading lost income, but only emotional distress, loss of dignity, or punitive damages, then your tax returns are arguably irrelevant.
I don’t really see the harm, but ask your attorney. There should be a formal method to obtain needed info. If he can demonstrate that it is pertinent to his case, he will be able to obtain it regardless