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Man sued for $30K over $40 printer he sold on Craigslist

usatoday.com

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Re: Man sued for $30K over $40 printer he sold on Craigslist

#61

Post by Declanomous »

sharemywin wrote: post #45
Negative1 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You should also never walk on a sidewalk, for fear of bumping into someone who trips and falls and sues you for personal negligence. You may be safe if you insure for this, though. Ask your Attorney.

wonder if a general liability policy would cover this sort of thing although they would probably just settle. of course they might show up with an army of lawyers.

An umbrella policy for general liability seems like it could be really useful. They typically cover rather large sums of money, in excess of one million dollars, and they aren't terribly expensive.

I can imagine someone suing over a misunderstanding because of an X/Y problem. Person A asks a really obtuse programming question, Person B answers it literally, and then Person A goes on to use Person B's answer to build a nuclear reactor controlled by a raspi. Person B then gets sued by Person A when it melts down.

Obviously that is a bit of an exaggeration, but it isn't hard to imagine a point in the future where programmers will be held to the same standards as certified professionals such as lawyers, doctors, and engineers. While it's really unlikely any particular programmer will be sued over advice they gave online, it would really horrible to be the person that someone chose to make an example of.

Re: Man sued for $30K over $40 printer he sold on Craigslist

#62

Post by mjolk »

>The printer's buyer was Gersh Zavodnik, a 54-year-old Indianapolis man known to many in the legal community as a frequent lawsuit filer who also represents himself in court. The Indiana Supreme Court said the "prolific, abusive litigant" has brought dozens of lawsuits against individuals and businesses, often asking for astronomical damages...Zavodnik, a native of Ukraine who moved to the United States in 1987 under a grant of political asylum, sued Costello, accusing him of falsely advertising a malfunctioning printer with missing parts, and pocketing Zavodnik's money

This is absolutely ridiculous.

Is anyone familiar with the legal system enough to know how we can help out his current victim or (legally) bring an end to this smug conman's thievery? Could public opinion or data that tells a compelling story help?

'Special Judge J. Jeffrey Edens' is damage in the legal process that I'm sure can be routed around and this story is ripe for the media.

Re: Man sued for $30K over $40 printer he sold on Craigslist

#63

Post by TheCoelacanth »

nimblegorilla wrote: post #42
johngalt wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem with 'loser pays' is that it can actually encourage frivolous litigation like this. Often there are civil suits where the defendant and plaintiff agree that there are some valid claims, but they disagree on the specifics and amount of the damages. If the plaintiff knows that eventually they will 'win' their fees and costs regardless, they have an incentive to disagree with settlement offers. It looks like…

That isn't how it always works. In some countries when the other party agreed to pay $30 up front then they would be considered the winner. You would pay their legal fees for trying to extort $27,970.

Who pays if the actual damages are somewhere in the middle?

Re: Man sued for $30K over $40 printer he sold on Craigslist

#64

Post by kej »

strictnein wrote: post #5

On a unrelated note: every time I read an article on USA Today's website it magically disappears and then it takes me a minute to realize that the entire thing was in a modal and clicking in the blank space on the right or left makes the modal go away. What an atrocious user experience.

And not just USA Today; the same thing happens on every other Gannett-owned site, which includes lots of local newspapers and TV stations.

Re: Man sued for $30K over $40 printer he sold on Craigslist

#65

Post by will_brown »

DannyBee wrote: post #53
dbot wrote: post #40

Two thoughts: 1. The plaintiff exploited a loophole in the Indiana small claims rule regarding "res judicata," which normally acts to prevent a party from re-litigating a decided matter. [The rule states]( http://www.in.gov/judiciary/rules/small_claims/ ), "A judgment shall be res judicata only as to the amount involved in the particular action and shall not be considered an adjudication of any fact at issue in any o…

My guess, and i'm honestly a bit lazy to find the filings, is that he changed the claims slightly.

I think the article says he added additional claims to the second lawsuit, but they all flow from the same set of facts/transaction, it should be Res Judicata. Odds are Defendant can Vacate the Judgment on:

1. Improper Service of Process; and/or 2. Defenses on the Merits, including, Res Judicata.

Assuming the Defendant can establish Plaintiff knowingly obtained default based on improper service, and show Plaintiff knew or should have known the claims weren't supported by fact or law the Defense should recoup their fees on the Motion to Vacate Default Judgment through sanctions.

Re: Man sued for $30K over $40 printer he sold on Craigslist

#66

Post by busterarm »

Going to be a bit flippant here, but if I sold somebody a $40 used printer and they mugged me using the courts for $30,000, I would seriously consider murder to be a viable option towards resolution.

Good on this guy for keeping his wits about him through all this. Guy probably needs a long, relaxing vacation.

Re: Man sued for $30K over $40 printer he sold on Craigslist

#69

Post by jjnoakes »

rdtsc wrote: post #59
giarc wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wouldn't the onus be on Zavodnik to prove he sent the documents by registered mail?

That is if he wanted those delivered. I think the idea was he didn't because he wanted to get the default judgement.

Whether he wanted them delivered or not, the legal system should require proof on behalf of the server that the person being served was served correctly. Basic first class mail should never suffice.

Re: Man sued for $30K over $40 printer he sold on Craigslist

#70

Post by jjnoakes »

fiatmoney wrote: post #11

There's no good reason not to be relatively anonymous when buying or selling on craigslist.

When money changes hands, short of using something like cash, how does John Doe remain anonymous?

I assume once the matter is in front of a court it is only a matter of time before your identity is readily available.

Some form of obfuscating one's name and/or address may raise the bar a bit, but I don't see how this is a solution to the problem of malicious litigation for selling something on craig's list.

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