Oh Brother

[woods]

Well, I remembered today that I have a lawyer as a customer. He has a 427 cobra replica that I tuned for him. I always feel kinda crappy about calling someone I know to ask for advice. A really good friend of mine is a doctor, and I would not ask him for medical advice if I were dying in his house. For some reason I feel like I would be abusing our friendship. But then again, if he asked me about his car, I would not even give a second thought to fixing it for him, so it's probably all in my head.

Anyway...I broke down and called him. He told me to fax over everything I had. He had a good laugh. He said that it was not the most goofy lawsuit he has seen, but definitely made the top five. Then he told me he would call me back tomorrow and that there is a possibility that he could stop this before it even goes any further. I guess knowing the right people can be a huge help (on his part and mine in this case).

So...if he does indeed just make it go away. I will owe him big.

I know that sort of thing is not impossible. I had a huge pile of tickets once from a crazed cop who just kept making stuff up to nail me for. It was way out of hand, I could not afford them and they also took my license (again). I scratched up what little money I had, went to a lawyer and 'poof'...here's your license back and all the tickets are now gone. I decided not to ask how that worked. Best grand I ever spent though.

[tmcalavy]

Maybe your lawyer bud/customer needs a 6-pack for his Cobra. Nice to have friends in different fields.

[woods]

Maybe your lawyer bud/customer needs a 6-pack for his Cobra. Nice to have friends in different fields.

Sure, I would trade a six pack of suds for that car in a heartbeat

It does have a tri-power on it. It's a cool car.

[averagef250]

I had a deal like that over a broken tranny a guy dropped off and fell off the planet for 2.5 years. A month after scrapping it the fellow shows up expecting to pick up a ready to drop in tranny. He made some legal threats and turned out he was within the law to collect damages from my business since I didn't use the proper procedure to notify him and attempt to return his property. He didn't actually take anything to court, but did show up wanting cash. I'm usually the 6'3" 250 pound friendly funny guy, but he saw a different side that day and decided against legal action. I have a sign in the shop now that states items left over 30 days are disposed of. If you want to cover your ass you need to send a certified letter to the person who left the property, then wait one year before tossing it.

If it goes to court represent yourself, show up early for every appointment, be confident and explain to the judge exactly what you said here and you'll be fine.

[Whateverman]

How about filing a countersuit for storage fees on the tires for two years

[woods]

50 bucks a day seems as reasonable to me as he is being.

[randyvines]

If you trace any stupid issue or ridiculous claim to the beginning there is a lawer. The govt allowed ambulance chasers to start advertising back in the early 70's this was the beginning of all things ignorant. Two things would eliminate this B/S, a loser pays clause and charge the attorney and client a hefty fee for frivolous law suits.

Better yet line all the laywers up ...


All this said with the exception of your friend ..Sorry I dont like lawyers, though i guess they are sometimes necessary

[woods]

Without lawyers, we wouldn't need lawyers.

[randyvines]

Without lawyers, we wouldn't need lawyers.

AMEN!

[happycamper]

1. Check your state for a statute of limitations regarding the sale.
2. I would retain an attorney.
3. Did the sale specifically state the sale of the tires too? (in writing)
4. His careless driving is not your fault. A person is required to exercise reasonable care driving in adverse weather.
5. You exercised "good faith" and diligence in trying to locate this joker; even compensating him after the fact.

This should be a good start, the wifey and I are both attorneys. My wife works for farmers insurance and I used to do construction defect litigation. Sadly, this is America now; the bad economy, lack of jobs and housing problems have brought about a new animal looking for money wherever they can find it. I strongly caution everyone out there to "watch your six" as people are becoming more and more litigious since it is a newfound income stream. The courts are clogged with these frivilous lawsuits.

[averagef250]

Thinking about it-

If he accepted the $200 compensation for not getting the tires then that's that, he doesn't get anything extra even if he is really stupid. If he refused the compensation you offered and filed a lawsuit then you have a problem.

[BobbyFord]

The thing is, none of this is in writing.

[FLATBEDFORD]

The tires would have been worn out by now anyway.

[woods]

I almost wore them out moving them around the shop so much.

[James72]

This sort of thing drives me insane!
Better yet if some low life trespasses on your property and slips they can sue! Guess it's better to shoot 'em before they hit the ground then!
Some friends of ours are being sued by thier own accountant for slipping on some ice at thier house after she was told not to go behind the house because of the ice... And she still acts as if they are all friends, her excuse is that she's sueing the insurance, not them personally, drives me insane