Re: sold a boat and it busted!
Back from the meeting. Cmcpehrson seems to be skeptical. I will be very accurate, and try not to be biased in my account of what happened
Details:
We waited through one case in the courtroom that we were assigned. After about an hour and a half someone came in and called us both out and ushered us to another courtroom that was empty. We were heard by another attorney, not a judge. She was a younger (than me) women. In her mid 30's I would guess.
The young man stated his case. His point was that I claimed the eninge to be in excellent condition, and that an enginge in excellent condition shouldn't quit after 3.5 to 4 hours.
My attorney questioned him. He told everything fairly accurately. Admited that there was a test drive, that he drove it, that my daughter skiied behind it. My attorney asked him why he bought the boat if it was defective. He said he didn't know it was defective, he's not a boat mechanic. He also agreed that he signed the bill of sale when it was produced by my lawyer.
The 'fill in attorney judge' asked for the boat mechanic got up on the stand. My attorney asked him what caused the engine to fail. He said he didn't know. My attorney asked him if a new engine could fail spontaneously, he said yes. I think the mechanic hurt their case.
There was other back and forth, but not of much consequenses, the "judge" said "I want to understand what you are saying, you are telling us that a brand new engine could do the same thing? Just fail?" He replied yes.
The "judge" asked to talk to both my attorney and the boy privately. She asked them if a fair solution could be found. My attorney relayed this to me, and I told them I would offer them 500 bucks. My attorney felt that she was going to rule in my favor and felt bad that the kid would get nothing. Okay I offered 500 bucks. They wanted 1600. SO!
This is the good part. She looked at me and said:"your ad says the engine was rebuilt in 2005, in bold letters, your ad says the engine is in excellent condition, starts right up, runs strong, you place alot of emphasis on the engine, if died a week later or a month later is one thing, but it died the next day, on the other hand (turning to the boy) you signed a contract agreeing to buy the boat "as is no warranty", and you didn't get the boat inspected before you bought it..........JUDGEMENT FOR THE PLANTIFF FOR 2100 DOLARS"
End of story....oh, wait she looked at us and said you have ten days to appeal my decision.
My take on it? She ruled with her heart. Here I am, dressed well in a suit and tie, my lawyer dressed well, the plantiff in a t-shirt and jeans, his mother in a sweatshirt and jeans.....and thought......tough situation.......the kids out 4200, the deffendant can oviously afford it more than the kid.......that's my decision.........
Oh, and here is my add, there used to be a link to it, but it has since expired, I kept a copy.
And to CMCPHERSON, the other thread was just in case, just in case this happened, there really is no other side of the story, that I know of at least. The inquiry didn't help because the "judge" came up with her own amount
Looking for a copy of the add.....I'll post it when I find it......
