The letters stated that I had a contractual obligation to assist. But I noticed at the top they were stamped 'without prejudice'. I asked my friend what that meant, and he said that technically it's not a legal letter - so I ignored them.
For a while, I made it game to light the various communications on fire in interesting ways, but it got boring.
Throwaway purely so that I can comment. I've had this happen before.
Years ago I left a rather awful company - I left on great terms with my boss, though I hated the company. I was the last person who knew how to release X product. While I documented everything, after I left, the wiki lost its mind, backups apparently weren't a thing, and the director of IT moved to Bermuda.
Fast forward 6 months.. a contractual obligation existed to release the software. They still hadn't successfully built (yup autoconf, make and friends), let alone know where to build it. I got the call you always dream about, 30 days prior to the release being due.
My boss asked me to do him a favour - I reminded him that I quit due to a lack of promotion and raises. He asked what I want, and I asked for 125K, which clearly he scoffed at. Then I reminded him that it was a 10M deal they'd signed, because we had an all hands. The CEO got involved and screamed at me for 'torpedoing the company'. I walked out and calmly informed them both along the way the price was now 250K, non negotiable.
I ignored every single mail (and legal letter) sent me way. With 10 days left, they agreed. I had the company deposit a cheque in escrow with lawyers of my choosing. We signed contracts, and I did my thing. Four days of work. It was well worth it.
Dougie, if you're reading this I hope your cringing.
For a while, I made it game to light the various communications on fire in interesting ways, but it got boring.