Thanks for the quick reply!
How exactly are they saying that you "stole" this moped?
Here's a quick overview of the sequence of events:
Day 1: I reach a verbal agreement with my friend to purchase his moped, bike gloves, and 2 helmets for $800. I provide him with $400 cash as a downpayment and he hands me the keys, gloves and one helmet. I tell him I'm going to take the bike to a mechanic to get it looked at before providing him with the rest of the money. I decide to take the bike from my school in Troy, NY to my home in York, PA to get the checkup done at my regular mechanic as I have a full 10 days before I need to be present at school for my last final. I neglect to tell him this and set out on my journey (this way my biggest mistake - I was truly just not thinking). He finds out I've left about two hours after I take off and is pissed. I tell him I'll be back in a few days, chill out, and he seems to calm down.
Day 2: He goes off the wall as he is being told by friends that he will be liable for an accident or damage, etc, etc. I try to calm him down but he demands I return the moped and says the deal is off. I tell him, alright, but I'm not paying you anything for the 600+ miles I'll have put on it.
Day 3: He then informs my parents, the dean of students at my school, and Troy PD - he tells them all it was stolen. I speak with both my parents and the dean of students and they realize the actual situation and take my side. After quite a bit of stressful negotiation we come to the agreement that I will pay him the remainder of the $800 over Paypal and, upon receiving the payment, he will sign over a bill of sale. I send him the Paypal money and he cuts of contact with me.
Day 8: I file a claim with Paypal to get my $400 back as he has not contacted me or upheld his end of the agreement for 5 days. He immediately contacts me and I learn that he is now suing me for $1000. He claims the additional $200 is for his pain and suffering along with all of the time he's spent talking to lawyers and legal authorities.
Day 15: The Paypal claim fails because Paypal does not insure against motor vehicle purchases (or something to that effect). He still has my $400 cash and $400 Paypal and I still have the moped, his license plate, and all papers associated with the vehicle which is in his name.
Did they ever sign over a bill of sale to you?
No
Do you have proof (some kind of paper trail) that you paid the $800, that they received the $800, and that this was the amount of money that was agreed upon for the purchase (in WRITING)?
I have nothing in writing. I do have a very long paper trail where he openly admits all three points above but it is via email (Gmail if it makes a difference). I have a witness to the $400 cash transaction and Paypal has a record of the second $400. I would be very surprised if he disputes the email as he will likely be using the same emails to attempt his convoluted case.
If the seller was in CA and you are in PA, then how exactly was this sale executed?
In person (see explanation above). I moved to CA for work on the December 30th (~Day 18).
What EXACTLY were the terms of this sale?
Let me know if I need to be more explicit than I already was.
And FYI, "pain and suffering" is not a valid claim in most small claims courts, and especially not in a case like this (i.e. while they are angry and frustrated, they are NOT in physical pain, and are therefore NOT suffering said pain, which is what the term is used to mean in the legal sense).
I know - I'll win this case hands down if I go to court. The problem is that going to court (in NY) will cost me ~$800 in airfare and cause me to miss one day of work at the very least (~$250).
