Is my case valid for small claims court?

[afnb3]

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

I feel i have been defrauded / misled by an internet company based in California. The amount is about $700. I'm just about to file complaints with the BBB & Illinois attorney general and i'm also looking into small claims court to cover all my basis. My question is can i take a case to small claims court for a company not located in IL? I would think since the company does business with individuals in my area (even though its over the internet) that i could but i'm not sure. I've called my county courthouse. They couldn't tell me. They told me to call this legal advice hotline and the legal advice hotline told me they only advise on situations in the State.

 

[Zigner]

You would, in all likelihood, need to file in California. What company are we talking about?

 

[afnb3]

You would, in all likelihood, need to file in California. What company are we talking about?

vayama.com (travel agent). Of course if i have to file in California then i won't end up doing it because it will cost more money to go through everything then i would get back.

 

[Zigner]

vayama.com (travel agent)

From: http://www.vayama.com/aboutus/terms-of-use (emphasis mine)

General:

These Terms are governed by the laws of California, without regard to its conflict of laws rules. You hereby consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the state and federal courts located in Santa Clara County, California for the resolution of any disputes arising out of or relating to these terms, your use of the website and any purchase of products or services from Vayama. The parties expressly exclude the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.

 

[afnb3]

From: http://www.vayama.com/aboutus/terms-of-use (emphasis mine)

General:

These Terms are governed by the laws of California, without regard to its conflict of laws rules. You hereby consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the state and federal courts located in Santa Clara County, California for the resolution of any disputes arising out of or relating to these terms, your use of the website and any purchase of products or services from Vayama. The parties expressly exclude the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.

Thanks Zanger for the help. It looks like i will have to go through the BBB & IAG route. Of course i don't remember going through the buying process of them making you agree to the terms-of-use but of course that would make things more difficult.

 

[Zigner]

Thanks Zanger for the help. It looks like i will have to go through the BBB & IAG route. Of course i don't remember going through the buying process of them making you agree to the terms-of-use but of course that would make things more difficult.

Your use of the site indicates acceptance of their terms.

The BBB has NO legal standing at all.

The IAG has no authority over this.


Good luck.

 

[swalsh411]

If you want to tell us why you believe you have been defrauded/misled then we can give you some idea of your chance of success. A lot of people who believe they have been misled by travel sites simply did not read the conditions before making their purchase.

 

[afnb3]

Your use of the site indicates acceptance of their terms.

The BBB has NO legal standing at all.

The IAG has no authority over this.


Good luck.

Yep i know BBB has no legal authority but in general companies try to resolve all cases to keep a good standing with the BBB. Also i know IAG has no authority unless it receives enough complaints and decides to take action upon itself. So i guess i will have to do as much as i can. I really don't know what much else i can do especially considering the amount of my loss, which while not huge, i'm sure would be a problem for most families.

 

[Mass_Shyster]

Based on the caselaw in Zippo Manufacturing v Zippo Dot Com, http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=2622455915709061368 an IL court would have personal jurisdiction over the defendant.

Since their terms of service specify California courts, any suit based on breach of contract would have to be brought in a California Court.

If, however, the cause of action is fraud, which is a tort and not a breach of contract, the suit could be brought in IL. The IL long arm statute has this provision:

(c) A court may also exercise jurisdiction on any other basis now or hereafter permitted by the Illinois Constitution and the Constitution of the United States.

The following is from Zippo v Zippo

Dot Com was under no obligation to sell its services to Pennsylvania residents. It freely chose to do so, presumably in order to profit from those transactions. If a corporation determines that the risk of being subject to personal jurisdiction in a particular forum is too great, it can choose to sever its connection to the state. Id. If Dot Com had not wanted to be amenable to jurisdiction in 1127*1127 Pennsylvania, the solution would have been simple — it could have chosen not to sell its services to Pennsylvania residents.

So, the short answer is that if you are suing for fraud, and the small claims court permits an out of state defendant, jurisdiction is proper in an IL court.

 

[Zigner]

I stand by my previous answer. California is where this action needs to occur.

 

[afnb3]

Based on the caselaw in Zippo Manufacturing v Zippo Dot Com, http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=2622455915709061368 an IL court would have personal jurisdiction over the defendant.

Since their terms of service specify California courts, any suit based on breach of contract would have to be brought in a California Court.

If, however, the cause of action is fraud, which is a tort and not a breach of contract, the suit could be brought in IL. The IL long arm statute has this provision:

The following is from Zippo v Zippo


So, the short answer is that if you are suing for fraud, and the small claims court permits an out of state defendant, jurisdiction is proper in an IL court.

Wow VERY informative STEVE. Thanks a bunch for the post. Maybe i should delve a little more in the details so you either you or someone else can tell me if this is fraud or not. When my wife bought her tickets (these are international tickets). She chose her flight and on the first page where it ask for your info (under the name section) it states:
* Required information. Please enter the travelers name exactly as it appears on their government issued photo ID or passport on the day of departure. Middle Initial is sufficient for middle names. Name changes are not allowed once tickets are issued.

We recently got married. She entered her married name (since that is what her current name is). Her passport is in her maiden name.

On the date of her flight the lady at the ticket counter told us she can't fly because the name on her "Passport" doesn't exactly match the name on the ticket. She had a "Valid Goverment issued ID" with her married name on it. We called the company almost immediately (before the flight departed) and they were unwilling to do anything. After talking to company for 3 days i ended up talking to a floor supervisor and he said they considered my wife as a NO SHOW and we had lost our money. He even said he could see why we were mislead but he said there is nothing he could do.

So the statement they have on their website mislead us in entering the name incorrectly which resulting in us losing the money we spent on the tickets. I'm a programmer and and i know exactly what vayama should have done on their website. They knew at the time she entered her name which flight she as taking and whether it was a international flight or not and if it was an international flight then they it should have said somthing like "* Name entered must match the name on your passport."

So i don't know 100% if this is considered fraud or not.

Now if the company would have just charged us a penalty and still allowed her to fly i wouldn't have been nearly upset. I probably wouldn't have used them again but...they just said nope you lost all your money and there is nothing we can do for you.
Also how in the world do i find out if small claims court will take a case from a company out of state? When i called the court house they couldn't even tell me.

 

[Mass_Shyster]

So i don't know 100% if this is considered fraud or not.

It doesn't appear to be fraud, or even breach of contract.

She did not enter her name as it appeared on her government ID on the day of departure. This was a condition precedent to the contract. Since she did not fill the condition, the other party was not required to perform.


From wikipedia

Common law fraud has nine elements:

a representation of an existing fact;
its materiality;
its falsity;
the speaker's knowledge of its falsity;
the speaker's intent that it shall be acted upon by the plaintiff;
plaintiff's ignorance of its falsity;
plaintiff's reliance on the truth of the representation;
plaintiff's right to rely upon it; and
consequent damages suffered by plaintiff.

 

[Zigner]

Don't waste your time - even if you sued in CA, you'd lose.