That is my question as well. Maybe the buyer noticed the price decrease on 928 in general and decided he made a bad investment considering you can get a used GTS for a little over $20k these days (and you don't have to be that lucky) and considering how costly it is becoming to install the engine. Plus, at what point he decided to take the engine apart? I mean, you just don't take an engine apart "after" you bought it from someone else.

That bring a point. When I tried to sell the engine on my 1984 for $500 I made sure it was a good engine eventhough the seller was eager to come and pick it up. The engine ran fan a few years ago but it smoked a bit on start ups. It also turned freely when I removed it. After removing the heads I found out that 2 piston rings broke and damaged the sleeves. Too bad I did not sell it but I am happy that I did not sell a bad engine to a rennlister.

 

Wow Tarek... incredible! Hope it all works out.

 

Tarek,
At the top of all those papers will be a court name. "In the such and such court of such and such county (or district), such and such a state."

Get thee to a lawyer. Time is of the essence. You need to do a few things really fast and then it will either be over or slow way down.

If your Florida lawyer doesn't have any Bay Area lawyer friends to ask for recommendations, I do. Email me if you're interested.

 

A few people have raised a good point about where he can and cannot be sued. In this case, it's probably both FL and CA. Most states have what's called a long arm statute, which allows that state to hail you into court there provided certain parameters are satisfied. The most common one is the "minimum contacts" standard. This is an inquiry into exactly how the deal went, where the seller advertised, and whether he can reasonably expect to be hailed into that court as a result of the transaction.

In this case, it sounds like most of the deal took place in FL. You could file a motion to dismiss his case, or in the alternative, to transfer it to FL for Forum Non Conveniens. Any lawyer who's taken civil procedure (and we all had to to graduate from law school) can file this motion for you.

 

I'm a philosopher not a lawyer. I've been sued by a Californian while living out of state. I can tell you that the CA court upheld the 'service' even though it was just mailed through the USPS with no registered, certified, etc. They consider it delivered if the plaintiff produces a receipt from the post office, that's it.

Next, since you didn't use 'as is, where is, for parts, used, no guarantee or warrantee' you're in deep doo-doo(not a legal term). I sold a used aircraft engine, and it came back to bite me to the tune of $2800. it could have been worse, he was suing for $23000(cost of rebuild). The CA courts are very, very plaintiff friendly. The judge didn't care that the engine was run-out at 2133 hours of use, which means in need of complete rebuild, or that I told the buyer in person here in TX that the plane was run-out. He said 'maybe I'll get a hundred hours or so out of it first'. He was under the impression that it was suitable for use in an airplane, and since I sold it to him the judge decided that was the standard of the terms of sale.

I didn't use a lawyer because the cost of defending started at $1500 retainer, and went up from there. I appeared in-pro-per, and the plaintiff had a lawyer. After the decision I spoke with the judge, and he said my procedures and presentation were fine, and a lawyer wouldn't have changed the facts of the case at all. He only cared that the engine was destined for an airplane that would fly, and that some engines went past 2000 hours, even well past. The buyer was under the 'impression' that the engine was ready to use, and that's what he based his decision on.

Finally, there's an incorrect assumption that since someone brings action there must be a valid reason, not just speculation or lottery chance. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but that was my experience, and I think it's pretty par for the course in CA court. In the future, anything I sell will be 'as is, where is, for parts, no guarantee, no return'.

 

And even that's not ironclad protection.

 

Bummer...

Just a question. Say he wins in CA court for $25K (all harm, I just picked a number) and he cannot collect. Can he write it off as a loss on his taxes? That would give him a win-win at your expense.

Down side, seems to me is, if he won he would turn it over to a collection agency and they would hound you to death, screw up your credit. Sounds like you need a lawyer.

 

Is there no burden of proof placed on the plaintiff to substantiate his claim .... that the engine was not in the condition specified at the time of sale?
An engine that turns freely may have broken rings - but rods are unlikely : besides, what prompted the installer to go inside a motor for a simple install? - a post install start-up without coolant or oil?

 

That's all true - the plaintiff does have the burden of proof. The point is to try to avoid getting to that point - ie, you don't want to have the case heard at all, but have it dismissed on procedural grounds. Trying cases is expensive, and no matter what the facts, can still be a crapshoot. Tarek's best bet is to get a FL lawyer, asap, and get the case dismissed on procedural grounds, transfered to FL, or settle it out for some nominal amount and chalk it up to experience (bad) in e-commerce. At this point, no matter what, it will cost money. To do nothing will cost the most - default judgment, easily transfered to FL and enforceable there. The only thing left is to try to figure out how to minimize the cost.

 

Ok... I'm a law student from the UK so my system may be a little different, though both the US and UK are common law jurisdictions.

1) Go get yourself a lawyer. Probably best to get one in your state because of (2). Go see several lawyers, especially those who will see you for free. Write up a questions sheet and see how they answer. This will help add to your knowledge of the law in this area, and help you see how competent the lawyer is. Go through the phone book and ask if they will see you for 30 mins for free. Send documents relating to the case, and have your questions formulated before you go. Once you've seen a couple of lawyers, reform your questions. What do you now not know? Having seen half a dozen, hire the best. Make sure they do not fob you off with their 'assistant' who will charge half price but be a third of the quality.

2) The first thing your lawyer should do is file a motion for the case to be moved. In the UK you can file a case anywhere, but the defending party can move it to wherever they choose. Claimant and C's lawyer(s) have to travel. Here it may well dissuade C from pursuing the case.

3) Re: exemption clauses

a) Must be incorporated into the contract
b) A signature is binding (L' Estrange v F Graucob Ltd (1934) 2 KB 394)
c) A term is incorporated if party is given reasonable notice of the term: Chapelton v Barry UDC (1940) 1 KB 532, Thornton v Shoe Lane Parking Ltd (1971) 2 QB 163.
d) The other party must be notified before agreeing the contract. Olley v Marlborough Court (1949)

4) In the UK, if claiming damages, for the first 6 months after purchase of a vehicle, it is for the seller to prove that the damage did not exist. Following 6 months the purchaser must prove it did. i.e. burden of proof shifts.

5) I very much doubt that this case will be time barred by a statute of limitations. In the UK, there is 6 years to file a case, and this only begins rolling from the time that C has notice.

6) Courts deal differently with private vs commercial sellers. Generally in commercial contexts, it is expected that both sides are properly advised and any agreement is drafted by lawyers. In a small scale private context, courts have accepted this is rarely the case.

 

"The suit is being filed in San Rafael, CA. And yes the wording is "Complaint for breach of contract and breach of implied warrantee of fitness"
I'm also reading from the paperwork:

Hearing on failure to File Proof of Service: 5/10/07
Hearing on failure to answer: 6/8/07
Appear for case management conference on 7/20/07

case management statement must be filed by 7/5/07"


When were you served? Normally you have 14 days to file acknowledgement of service and then a further 14 days to give particulars. Have you sat on this case for a month?

 

I thought you could become a lawyer by passing the bar exam and not go to law school?

 

True in some states. Not MD. I think there's only a few left that allow you to do that.

 

Scary, but California allows it.

http://calbar.ca.gov/state/calbar/ca...10581&id=24442

 

This must be the pool of people they get their judges from.