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OLDSMAR, FLA---A small business owner in the Tampa Bay area has learned that it's not wise to anger an attorney.
Tampa attorney William Ebsary didn't just get mad about the unsolicited faxes he was getting from the Twins Luncheon restaurant, he got even.
With the help of fellow attorney James Thomas of Clearwater, Ebsary has sued restaurant owner Ronald Palazzolo, seeking between $5,000 and $15,000 damages for the 34 unsolicited faxes he says he got which advertised the shop's daily specials.
Ebsary is basing his litigation on a law that bans "fax blasting", the term given to faxing business advertisements to someone who is not a customer and hasn't given permission for the business to do so. Florida law allows fax blasting victims to recover damages of up to $1,500 in fines per faxed page.
The restaurant owner says that the fax number for the attorney's law office was accidentally and unknowingly entered into the speed dialer of the fax machine.
Palazzolo says he's offered to settle the lawsuit for $3,000 but Ebsary has refused, demanding $7,500 so it looks like the dispute is headed into small claims court. He says that he continued to receive faxes from the restaurant even after he sent the owners a certified letter asking that they stop.
Palazzolo said he tried to match up the lawyer's number with those in the fax machine but there was no match. He says he finally figured out what number was Ebsary's and removed it from the machine but not in time to halt the lawsuit. 5-22-06
© 2006 North
Country Gazette
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