Family Law

A 'Real Fathers for Justice' activist, Tim Line, has received a four-week prison sentence, suspended for two years, after he was found guilty of harassing a family law solicitor. He was also handed a restraining order and told to pay £480 in costs.

Mr Line set up a website making scathing comments about his ex-wife's solicitor, encouraging other people with similar experiences to do the same. He created the website after making negative comments on ‘solicitors from hell,' a website that was closed down in March 2012 due to several successful libel cases against its owner, Rick Kordowski. Mr Line claimed the solicitor involved deliberately 'delayed' proceedings and alleged he failed to pass messages on to his ex-wife regarding visiting their children. The solicitor in Devizes, Wiltshire, acted for her during their four year divorce battle from May 2006 to 2010 in which Mr Line lost custody of his three daughters.

On the website, Mr Line has suggested his ex-wife's solicitors were guilty of lying in court, repeatedly not responding to correspondence, ignoring court timetables, responding to correspondence without taking instructions from his client, excessive charges, poor advice and lack of integrity.

Mr Line likened his website to Trip Advisor pointing out that there are plenty of other websites that exist which review and criticise services.

In sentencing him, Deputy District Judge Champion told him: ‘This was a deliberate and continued course of conduct and it was pointed out to you that it was harassment.'

The judge added: ‘The nature of the harassment, the person you have harassed, the way you have done it and the fact you have been given every opportunity to stop it before you appeared in court all adds up.'