Never completed Craigslist transaction, now potential buyer wants to sue - California

[craig list]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CA

I was selling a concert ticket and took a small deposit from a potential buyer because I wasn't able to access the ticket yet. Then the concert date changed and I changed my mind about selling the ticket. I refunded the money and explained why I was uncomfortable selling the ticket (the real reason is because the person is scary and if any glitches happen as they often do with these events, I'm afraid for my life.)

After I refunded the deposit money, the buyer sent the money back. He is now threatening to sue me in small claims court for possession of the ticket and said that he will make sure I also pay for all his expenses incurred to sue me, which means flight and hotel since he is out of state. He said that we are in a legally binding contract and he will win. We never signed any formal contract. It was an agreement over email. He knows my name and may know where I live as it's readily available online. What are my chances of winning the case vs. losing and having to pay a ton of his padded expenses? How to the California courts rule on such matters?

I could still sell him the ticket, but something tells me just to cut this one loose.

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CA

I was selling a concert ticket and took a small deposit from a potential buyer because I wasn't able to access the ticket yet. Then the concert date changed and I changed my mind about selling the ticket. I refunded the money and explained why I was uncomfortable selling the ticket (the real reason is because the person is scary and if any glitches happen as they often do with these events, I'm afraid for my life.)

After I refunded the deposit money, the buyer sent the money back. He is now threatening to sue me in small claims court for possession of the ticket and said that he will make sure I also pay for all his expenses incurred to sue me, which means flight and hotel since he is out of state. He said that we are in a legally binding contract and he will win. We never signed any formal contract. It was an agreement over email. He knows my name and may know where I live as it's readily available online. What are my chances of winning the case vs. losing and having to pay a ton of his padded expenses? How to the California courts rule on such matters?

I could still sell him the ticket, but something tells me just to cut this one loose.

If not that the person is scary and you are afraid for your life, then what reason did you create to cancel the agreement you made with the purchaser?

No one here can tell you the chances of winning or losing a lawsuit (we do not have access to all of the facts necessary to make that determination) but I can tell you that a simple "change of mind" is generally not going to be enough to legally get you out of a contract.

 

[justalayman]

We never signed any formal contract. It was an agreement over email. .

you don't have to sign a formal contract for there to be a contract. If you agreed to sell him tickets, that is the basics of a contract. There is no way anybody here could tell you if your contract is enforceable but what you have described here there is a great chance it is.

 

[Zigner]

He's blowing smoke. He would have to travel to CA to sue you (and to your county, not just any random county) and those expenses are not able to be recovered in court.

 

[xylene]

What's his cause of action:

"I'm suing to enforce this craigslist scralper's contract."

 

[craig list]

Thank you for your feedback. To fill in some of the story, the band postponed the concert and when I found out, I called the buyer to let him know so that he could cancel any arrangements he had made and try to get his money back. He started raging at me on the phone, so I offered to just refund his money. So then he started yelling at me to say that no, we had entered a contract and I was legally bound to sell him the ticket. My alarm bells were ringing at this time and I didn't feel like this was someone I wanted any more to do with.

I'm planning to be out of town and some of it in a remote area of the world for the next 1/2 year and if the venue or band change something again and/or decide that they need to reissue tickets (such as if the venue changes) I will have no way of knowing in a timely manner nor will I be able to retrieve a new ticket and send it to him. As of now, there is no set date for the show. The venue says it will honor all tickets, but what does that mean, really? I've been to shows with this exact same promoter where 6 hours before the show, they called and changed my seats and I had to go to the box office with ID and get a new ticket. So I realize these scenarios I'm worried about sound like hypotheticals, but having been to over 1000 concerts, I have experienced these exact glitches in the past. He seems like the type of guy who will hunt me down to compensate him for hassles he experiences even if they are things that are out of my control.

So to answer quincy's question, the reason I gave was that I cannot guarantee that the ticket as it is now will be valid when the show happens.

 

[quincy]

Thank you for your feedback. To fill in some of the story, the band postponed the concert and when I found out, I called the buyer to let him know so that he could cancel any arrangements he had made and try to get his money back. He started raging at me on the phone, so I offered to just refund his money. So then he started yelling at me to say that no, we had entered a contract and I was legally bound to sell him the ticket. My alarm bells were ringing at this time and I didn't feel like this was someone I wanted any more to do with.

I'm planning to be out of town and some of it in a remote area of the world for the next 1/2 year and if the venue or band change something again and/or decide that they need to reissue tickets (such as if the venue changes) I will have no way of knowing in a timely manner nor will I be able to retrieve a new ticket and send it to him. As of now, there is no set date for the show. The venue says it will honor all tickets, but what does that mean, really? I've been to shows with this exact same promoter where 6 hours before the show, they called and changed my seats and I had to go to the box office with ID and get a new ticket. So I realize these scenarios I'm worried about sound like hypotheticals, but having been to over 1000 concerts, I have experienced these exact glitches in the past. He seems like the type of guy who will hunt me down to compensate him for hassles he experiences even if they are things that are out of my control.

So to answer quincy's question, the reason I gave was that I cannot guarantee that the ticket as it is now will be valid when the show happens.

Your invented reason isn't bad but venues generally need to honor tickets already sold or offer a refund.

If there has been no rescheduling of the concert yet, the fellow cannot legitimately hold you responsible for any plans he has already made in anticipation of having tickets to the event for a specific date. So that is good.

With the facts as you state them, I agree with Zigner that it seems unlikely the guy will sue. Always possible, but probably unlikely.

 

[craig list]

Your invented reason isn't bad but venues generally need to honor tickets already sold or offer a refund.

If there has been no rescheduling of the concert yet, the fellow cannot legitimately hold you responsible for any plans he has already made in anticipation of having tickets to the event for a specific date. So that is good.

With the facts as you state them, I agree with Zigner that it seems unlikely the guy will sue. Always possible, but probably unlikely.

Yes, venues typically just let you use the old ticket to get in and your seat remains the same. However, one artist changed venues completely and then when they reissued tickets to the show at the new venue, my seat was terrible. I understand that this only happened to me once out of the 1000+ shows, but if it does happen, I won't be around to either fight it out with the promoter or gather the new ticket from the mail and send it to the buyer.

 

[craig list]

I decided to refund his money, close my account, stop responding, and call it a day. He is now emailing me all sorts of profane things and threatening my life. On the bright side, at least I'll have plenty to show the small claims court judge.

 

[quincy]

I decided to refund his money, close my account, stop responding, and call it a day. He is now emailing me all sorts of profane things and threatening my life. On the bright side, at least I'll have plenty to show the small claims court judge.

Yes, hang onto his emails but do not respond. There are crazies in the world and I think you have just run across one of them. Maybe he will wear himself out and leave you alone.

Please tell me that these are not Justin Bieber tickets he is going all profane over.