What's wrong with this lawyer?!

Chapter 37: Chapter 35 Even if You Win the Lawsuit, You Still Have to Pay!

It was another bright morning, and Tang Fangjing got out of bed to check the legal calendar he was about to finish. He nodded to himself, today was a good day.

Auspicious for the death penalty, life imprisonment; avoid mediation, withdrawal of lawsuits.

Now tell me if that isn't a good day!

Checking the group chat, several intern attorneys were already starting to "educate"... promote to the various property owners.

And outside, the neighborhood office had already posted the list of members for the homeowners' meeting preparation committee yesterday, and this announcement would last seven days.

Procedural issues are just like that, especially in legal matters, you have to go through all the required steps, otherwise, you'll end up with endless trouble.

So Tang Fangjing was feeling very anxious and quite irritable, always thinking about finding something to vent his anger.

Just when he was pondering what to do today, his phone rang. Picking it up, he saw it was a number he didn't recognize.

"Hello, who is this? Yes, this is Tang Fangjing, and you are...?"

On the phone, a very confident voice responded, "Hello, Mr. Tang, I am Zhang Wei, an attorney with Jingzhou Feixiang Law Firm, representing Mr. Hou Xiangyuan. I'd like to discuss things with you to see if we can resolve some conflicts... "

The lawyer claiming to be Zhang Wei talked for a long time on the phone. In summary, he just wanted to meet and see if they could mediate.

As for mediation, Tang Fangjing certainly had his own thoughts. He wasn't insistent on sending the other party to prison; he wasn't some kind of pervert.

Although, he did harbor such a thought deep inside... It couldn't be helped. His doctor had told him to do whatever he wanted, so as a patient, following the doctor's advice couldn't be wrong, right?

Besides, he filed a private criminal prosecution partly for money and partly to restore his reputation and lay the foundation for the homeowners' committee. It wasn't for the sake of suing per se.

Half an hour later, in the mediation room of Guangming District Court.

Such mediation is best conducted officially since private mediations can easily run into various problems.

After waiting for a while, he saw a man exuding an aura of strength walk in, with only a few staunch strands of hair still standing resolutely on his head.

The man who entered looked around and said, "Tang Fangjing? I am the judge handling this case. My name is Wang Xiangnan. The others haven't arrived yet, have they? No matter, no matter, please take a seat."

After a pause, Judge Wang spoke again, "You're a fine young man, daring to think and act. I've been in the Bright District criminal tribunal for many years, but this is the first time I've seen a private libel suit. Your evidence is also exceptionally well-prepared... "

Initially indifferent, Tang Fangjing assessed the other party upon hearing this, and in that moment, he felt as if he had seen through the judge's soul. So,the judge shared his enthusiasm!

"Not at all, not at all, the evidence this time was a bit lacking. That Mr. Hou is not easy to deal with. However, Judge Wang, regarding private criminal prosecution, I have ten points to share... "

Judge Wang: "???"

Meanwhile, outside, a group of people were entering the courthouse, talking as they went.

"Alright, everyone, I'll say it again: in the meeting, leave all the talking to me, got it? We went over everything clearly yesterday."

"The other side is still burdened with a mortgage. He's made such a big effort for what? He just wants money. So there's no need for anyone to worry."

Zhang Wei felt confident that there would be no issues this time. He had a response for every possible move by the other party.

Next to him, Kong Xiufang nodded reluctantly. Her parents were beside her, silent, and Manager Bai had come alone; his family still had no idea about this.

Upon reaching the mediation room, Zhang Wei was the first to push the door open. Then, the two men who had been engaged in an animated discussion inside immediately fell silent. The three of them exchanged looks, and finally, it was Judge Wang who spoke.

"Ahem, so, Lawyer Zhang, right? Come, take a seat over here. All parties involved should sit here."

Judges are human too, and Judge Wang had been interested in the special circumstances of private prosecution before becoming a judge. He had thought he'd probably never encounter such a case, but this young man turned out to be quite something!

Given a chance to practice, who would want to deal with theory...

Hou Xiangyuan and his party were unaware of what had just happened and sat down without a second thought.

"Both parties are present, right? Then, let's begin. Tang Fangjing, you are the plaintiff. You go first and tell us what you have in mind."

Tang Fangjing glanced at the group opposite him and then began, "My thoughts are fairly simple. The combined compensation amount in the self-prosecution statement is about somewhat over sixty thousand. If we are to mediate, I want double that—twelve hundred thousand."

Demands for compensation aren't made frivolously; each sum is calculated according to a standard, and it's primarily because the situation hasn't escalated to cyber violence but is rather a case of individual defamation.

Upon hearing this statement, Manager Kong Xiufang and the family members exchanged glances, confirming just as Lawyer Zhang had predicted—the other side had gone straight to talking about money.

Money is negotiable, and Hou Xiangyuan had already said he would figure out a way to deal with it.

However, Tang Fangjing wasn't finished.

"Wait a minute, I have another condition. I need a public apology from you, explicitly stating that the property management company didn't want the committee to be established, so they deliberately created this false article to tarnish my name and interfere with the formation of the committee."

In essence, the crime of defamation is still an infringement on the right to reputation, but more severe, so there's a need for reputation restoration.

At least Judge Wang saw no issue with it—compensation plus reputation restoration, a perfectly normal request.

However, before he could express his opinion, Hou Xiangyuan from across the table bluntly said, "That's impossible!"

What a joke! If they really made such an apology, could he even stay in the property management business? He feared that if the committee were established, the first thing they'd do would be to fire the property management.

Zhang Wei glanced at Hou Xiangyuan and also spoke up, "Mr. Tang, we can't meet this request because this matter essentially has nothing to do with the company…"

However, before Zhang Wei could utter the words "it doesn't matter," he saw the young man across from him stand up and head straight for the door.

As he walked, he uttered, "Judge Wang, then I'll take my leave first, as I'm quite pressed for time on my end."

What's this about leaving now? Zhang Wei was a bit slow to grasp what was happening and quickly protested, "Wait, Mr. Tang, aren't we still in the middle of discussions? You are…"

"Ah? I thought we had finished talking. You already said you can't meet my demands, so why should I stay? If you can't do it, I can't agree to mediation. That's it, Judge Wang, I'm taking off now."

The logic was sound. Why would he waste his precious time here?

Zhang Wei was dumbfounded. Wasn't mediation supposed to be a gradual negotiation between both parties? Who just throws in a royal flush at the start? And it seemed the other party was serious!

"Mr. Tang, Mr. Tang, aren't you interested in the compensation anymore?" Zhang Wei quickly threw out what he considered his trump card.

Hou Xiangyuan had already explained the situation. The opposing party was just a trainee lawyer, and Zhang Wei understood very well what trainee lawyers were like—just look at Xiao Yan; even though he had become a lawyer, what could he do? Barely make a living.

So, the other party was definitely after the money this time!

Yet, Tang Fangjing, who had already reached the door, responded bluntly, "If I win the lawsuit, I'll get the compensation anyway!"