So were going to court.

[mikeofaustin]

So we're going to court.

A friend of mine recently bought a TV from someone on craigslist. The ad said it was such-n-such model number. He went to pick it up, and once he got it home, he realized that the guy lied on his ad about the model. He called him only to get the response, "Tuff shiat".
So, me knowing a little about small claims court, I'll be helping him take the guy to court to get back the cost of the TV, lost wages for missing work, gas mileage because of the distance traveled (over 100 miles), and court costs back.

I told him... You lucky you know a guy like me... very litigious in nature... i once took a girl to court for $25 bucks. Turned it into $400. No, I'm not evil, they are. And if they only held up there side of the deal, this wouldn't happen.

//the $25 dollar girl was a long story, but believe me... she deserved it very much so.

 

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[onfire]

Re: So we're going to court.

Mike I d like to top that. Several years ago while working at the fire house we found out we needed a new refer.seeing that the city does not supply us with a second refer we took up a collection. We answered a add in the local paper for a side by side for under 100$ We drove out to a farm were a local handy man repaired used refers. he explained it worked fine. and it did for 2 days puzzled we called one of the guys from another fire house who new refer repairs and informed us the guy we bought it from had put a amateur patch on the cooling line and it would cost more to fix then the refer was worth.So we called the seller back after a long talk he finely told us to pound sand and said" what you think I m Sears" Well the next call to him we said look all we want is the benny back or another refer cause you don t want to mess with 27 guys with little to do between fire runs.The next call from him we taped and recorded a lot of threats, we took these to our friend the local D.A. which in turn he sent the E.P.A. which in turn they found out he was selling refers with out the proper permits for releasing used freon etc. into the air without recovery equipment. While this was being done his wife became upset and told them this was no big deal they should look at her husbands brothers farm who has been dumping battery's and solvents for years .All in all after the E.P.A. was done, both farms were considered a super fund site, they lost the farms and the fines cost them everything else and to think all this over 100$ By the way we did go to Sears after all.

 

[mlayers]

Re: So we're going to court.

Maybe you can help me. I bought a house and the guy in it said he would be out by Nov. 27th. We went there on the 28th and he told us that he decide not to move he is our tentant so now we have to evict him. It can take up to 3 months to get him out. Now I have to pay a house mortgage where I am not staying at plus a lot rent for a house trailer. This guy has broken 3 window in the garage that I had to fix so far. I am taking pictures of everything that he dose to the place. I have been to the cops here and they tell me it is a civil matter and for me to get a lawyer. I have spent everything I had in my saving for this place and I have no money for a lawyer at this time. I did get the eviction started now just waiting for a date. Sorry about this but I have a lot on my mind.......Matt

 

[OmegaMan]

Re: So we're going to court.

Maybe you can help me. I bought a house and the guy in it said he would be out by Nov. 27th. We went there on the 28th and he told us that he decide not to move he is our tentant so now we have to evict him. It can take up to 3 months to get him out. Now I have to pay a house mortgage where I am not staying at plus a lot rent for a house trailer. This guy has broken 3 window in the garage that I had to fix so far. I am taking pictures of everything that he dose to the place. I have been to the cops here and they tell me it is a civil matter and for me to get a lawyer. I have spent everything I had in my saving for this place and I have no money for a lawyer at this time. I did get the eviction started now just waiting for a date. Sorry about this but I have a lot on my mind.......Matt

Buy a baseball bat, duct tape and a good shovel.

 

[mrs.oroblanco]

Re: So we're going to court.

You are doing the right things - take lots of pictures, take it to small claims court (check to see your limit for your state), if you win, you automatically get your court costs.

Second thing to check is the laws of eviction. We had to do an eviction of someone we didn't rent to, but they were in the family of someone who had in the past. Still had to go through the whole deal like we had rented to them. Worst thing was - they were on welfare for a couple of kids, and, at the time, you could not evict someone on public assistance with children under a certain age between November 15th and April 15th.
The electric companies could not turn of the electricity - for the same reasons. And, we couldn't start proceedings before the April 15th date, so, by the time we went to court (they didn't show up), it was May 26th, and they had trashed the house.

The first thing that happened is when we walked in, the place became alive with fleas - Mr. O is allergic to fleas - so we had to have it bombed.
When we were able to get in, a very expensive carpet ($2500), was filthy sticky filthy, the entrance, which we had spent quite a bit on for real expensive tile - had all but 3 tiles broken, there was a huge gash across one wall in one of the bedrooms - all across the wall, one end to the other. Wall covering had been pulled down - they took all the fixtures and - here's the good one - Roy and I hand made every piece of molding, so that it looked like the old fashion, wide molding - they pried it off the walls and took it - all of it. And then stole the electrical outlet covers!!!

They figured it was about 30,000 dollars worth of damage. (Oh, I forgot - they took the furnace, too). No more renting for me - we fixed it up until it was legal, and then sold it.

We took them to court again, and, apparently, we were just one of several - some who had a higher claim then we did. We will never see that money. Then the dammed IRS audited us, because they didn't believe it. (we did win that battle, took many, many pictures).

So, check the laws in your state - they are even on-line for most states. It's under statutes, and codes, usually. Most judges secretaries will help you out. At least all the ones we ever dealt with. They cannot give you legal advice, but they can help you with forms etc.

B

 

[onfire]

Re: So we're going to court.

Maybe you can help me. I bought a house and the guy in it said he would be out by Nov. 27th. We went there on the 28th and he told us that he decide not to move he is our tentant so now we have to evict him. It can take up to 3 months to get him out. Now I have to pay a house mortgage where I am not staying at plus a lot rent for a house trailer. This guy has broken 3 window in the garage that I had to fix so far. I am taking pictures of everything that he dose to the place. I have been to the cops here and they tell me it is a civil matter and for me to get a lawyer. I have spent everything I had in my saving for this place and I have no money for a lawyer at this time. I did get the eviction started now just waiting for a date. Sorry about this but I have a lot on my mind.......Matt

People like this are dirt bags, try legal .com I don t understand one thing was he a tenant when you closed on the house or the owner? You have to be careful how you handle this the laws are on the side of these A$$e$ Believe me there are ways. check his garbage and see if any thing has his name on it . then fill up a bunch of bags and head for the country roads and dump it, then go to police and tell them you saw this guy dumping his crap all over the road. sometimes the fines are pretty steep. also get a throw away phone and call all the excourt services in the phone book to that address what I m getting at if its costing you money have a little fun with this guy theres also criglist have some else advertise a bunch of free stuff after 9 at nite or before 6 in the morning or just wait for your legal system

 

[borninok]

Re: So we're going to court.

Dang, Mikeofaustin, I sure have used you in this divorce case that I'm going through!! We are into the final stages of everything, but let's just say, the song "She got the gold mine, I got the shaft" is SOOOOOOOOO very correct. She works for a bank, has a good job, but she will still get 1/2 of my federal govt retirement. I will get 1/2 of her retirement IF and ONLY WHEN she decides to retire. She gets 1/2 of my 401K....I get 1/2 of her 401K...but my 401K is twice hers, so she still makes out like a bandit. She gets 1/2 of the house.........and so do I....but the mortgage payments for the past 23 years have been coming out of MY salary. She also gets to keep $60K in jewelry that I gave her over the years.........and I get to keep my MD'ng equipment. I am moving from Virginia to the San Antonio, TX area...........a lot of moving costs involved. She is moving 10 miles.....very little moving costs.

I had to sell all of my rings and gold jewelry that I had found MDng on the beach just to finance my attorney costs. My elderly mother-in-law covered my wife's attorney costs. Sure could have used your expertise! LOL LOL
Mel

borninok

 

[mrs.oroblanco]

Re: So we're going to court.

The truth of the matter is - even squatters have to be evicted through the court system. If they broke into your house and were living there, you would still have to evict them in the courts. It's ridiculous. (If you don't, then you have got the "squatter's rights" situation, where they can sue you for not providing proper heat, etc.)

B

 

[pygmy]

Re: So we're going to court.

Lets hope you don't get in the firing line of an Aggravated Assult though your
litigous actions Mike. Better men have been taken down for a lot less.
In 2007 in Austin there were 540 murders.

 

[Xraywolf]

Re: So we're going to court.

Musta been a whale of a bargain to drive 100 miles for a TV, sheesh.
Was that 1 way, or round trip ?

You might not be on very solid grounds, though I am far from claiming any litigious nature for myself.
After all, he seen it, he approved of it, and he bought it.
The time to check model numbers might have been while he was there, before $$ changed hands.
In circumstances like that, handing over $$ might legally constitute a done deal.

 

[czechdetectingtours.com]

Re: So we're going to court.

True, cash is usually a done deal. Could it have been better if you paid by check?

 

[Xraywolf]

Re: So we're going to court.

People don't accept checks for craigslist ads, for an obvious reason - The check might bounce.
Any case, handing over a check is about the same as handing over cash, it signifies that the item is wanted, and a deal is made.
I really think that folks with a "litigious nature" are just looking for stuff like this to hit a small lotto jackpot, and the defendant might well counter sue, and the litigant end up eating court costs.

I assume this was a transaction between adults, and adults should make sure they are satisfied with an item before handing over their hard earned $$ for it.

I'm guessing this must have been a $1,700 TV for $600 or something like that.
It must have been very similar to what he was expecting, if not identical except for the model #.
Are the features of the other model really all that much better, that he would have been willing to cart the TV back another 100 miles to get a refund ?

 

[mikeofaustin]

Re: So we're going to court.

Musta been a whale of a bargain to drive 100 miles for a TV, sheesh.
Was that 1 way, or round trip ?

You might not be on very solid grounds, though I am far from claiming any litigious nature for myself.
After all, he seen it, he approved of it, and he bought it.
The time to check model numbers might have been while he was there, before $$ changed hands.
In circumstances like that, handing over $$ might legally constitute a done deal.

Most judges are fair. They'll agree that at the time of the sale, no equipment was on the site to test out the "1080P" expectation. And once getting it home, it came to fruition that the equipment was indeed bad advertisement. It would be different if he bought a blue car and took it home to find the car was 'red'. Technicals prevail here.

In regards to the 'home squatters... If it were me, since I owned the home, I would go and "make residency" and make the guys life a living hell. Change the electric, phone, gas over into my name (you only need a mortgage contract/other to show them for them to do it), then have it turned off days later. Then, have a teenager move in a play there rock music till 6am in the morning. It would help if you could get the guy upset enough to make a mark or a bruise on you, then call the cops and have him hauled off to jail. Play dirty.

Edit: What ever you do, make sure you have that contract on the ready. That way, whatever happens... You show that you own the home. And, in the case of a broken window, you could call the law and say, "He just got very violent and broke my window". They'll haul 'em off to jail, probably just overnight, but at least that's something. Keep in mind that cops don't know the law, they just pretend to. If you have your paperwork to back you up, you're good to go.