I guess by that definition, literally all legal processes in US civil court are "thinly veiled threats". Which might be a fair perspective, but I think OP shou

I guess by that definition, literally all legal processes in US civil court are "thinly veiled threats". Which might be a fair perspective, but I think OP should point that perspective out ahead of time in the future. Maybe by instead writing something like this: "Like every engagement with the legal system, this sounds like a thinly veiled threat..." Being explicit makes clear that one thinks that it isn't anything specific to the case that makes it a threat - it's just the fact that the legal system has been invoked.