I know that this question will come up because both my father and my father-in-law have asked me. Indeed, given the record of bad faith and fraud on behalf of the Montana News Association, I could easily win a lawsuit against them. Rather than receive hundreds of e-mails asking me, "Why don't you sue this guy?" I'll answer right here.
First, in order to serve Don Cyphers, I have to find him. As David Crisp reports in the Billings Outpost in two separate stories, this can be a challenge. He writes,
"When his company was sued for fraud last year, a process server testified that Mr. Cyphers “took off” when she tried to serve him with papers outside his office in the Wilcox Building. "
In another article, Crisp writes,
"A Missoula lawyer representing the plaintiff said in court documents that she had been unable to locate the company. Mail was returned as undeliverable; a licensed process server failed in four tries to find Mr. Cyphers or the company; an Internet search didn’t help. "
Now, given that a professional process server tried and failed four times to find Mr. Cyphers, what are my odds? Someone suggested to me that I could wait at the Billings Post Office for him to come and check his P.O. Box. What if he only does that once a week? Should I spend a week in Billings waiting for Don Cyphers to come check his mail?
If there's one thing the Dave Burgert misdemeanor trial in Kalispell taught me, it's that you following people or waiting for people to serve them process is a dangerous proposition.
If somehow, I could get him served, running a civil trial is very expensive. As a trained paralegal, I might be able to get by defending myself but there is a filing fee, there is the cost of depositions, there is the cost of missing work to appear in court to argue various motions. Suing someone is an incredibly long and arduous process that would take at least six months if not more. Even if I got re-imbursed for court costs, what I would actually gain would be less than I spent in the trial. Plus in six months, the money may not be as needed as it is right now.
In short, I view suing Donald Cyphers as a counterproductive waste of time for which I will probably not be rewarded. Even if I were to win a large punitive award against him, I don't want to make myself wealthy on Don Cyphers. All I want is what is owed me.
A question that goes with this is, "Why don't you put a lien on his property?" Again, Mr. Crisp tells us that Cypher's not on the tax rolls in Yellowstone County, so I don't know anything of his that I can file a lien against.