California.
I recently negotiated a deal to purchase a boat in Southern California (I live in Victoria, BC, Canada). The negotiation has been on going for about three weeks I had the boat locally inspected and last week we finally came up with a deal that we both agreed on. I received written and verbal confirmation from the individual and his wife that the deal was done and that they had the titles to the boat and trailer and everything was ready to be picked up. The negotiated price is clearly stated in the emails. Since I live in Canada it takes a lot of planning to bring the boat back to Canada, through customs etc.
I actually ended up purchasing a one ton diesel truck in their immediate area to tow the boat home with, and purchased a one way NON refundable airline ticket (for next Wednesday Aug 16). I did this only after confirming with the seller that the deal was done and that I was fully committed to buying the boat and trailer. I verbally and via email offered a deposit using my Paypal account to secure the deal, and also called the seller immediately after purchasing the airline ticket to let them know that I was fully committed to buying the boat. I received emails back saying "don't worry you don't need to send a deposit, you can pay when you pick it up, the boat is yours, we won't sell it on you!"
During this time I have been advertising the boat for sale (the type of boat is very sought after in our region). I actually met with an individual and pre-sold the boat to him and received a deposit as well as a written agreement giving him first purchase rights on the boat. My profit would have been in the $10,000 dollar range.
So my flight is booked (Wednesday, Aug 16,06) and paid for, my new (used) one ton truck is bought and waiting to tow the boat home and low and behold I receive a message on my home answering machine when I got home today saying:
"Kevin, its Eric. I know we kind of have a deal on the boat but, I have two guys here with cash in hand and they are offering me $1000 more than our deal, they saw it in the boat trader and came to have a look, I'm going to try to call you on your cell phone, but I have to do what’s best for me and my family and I need as much money as I can get out of this boat..." I have been calling him constantly on his home and mobile phone since I heard the message, and he will not answer or call me back (I have left several messages on both).
He was fully aware of the situation, I was very clear about purchasing the flight and the one ton truck, and made every attempt to pay a deposit. They (him and his wife) told me not to worry they wouldn't sell the boat "the deal was done!" Now I'm stuck with a one ton truck in Southern California which I purchased just to tow the boat home, a non refundable one way ticket to S. California and to top it off I had pre-sold the boat for about a $10,000 dollar profit!!
So my question is; do I have grounds to sue them? If I do what is the maximum amount in small claims court? They are located near Redlands California, if I do have a case I will hire someone local, but I don't want to throw much more money at this deal, could a law student handle this for me? Do I need to appear to sue them or can I have someone represent me?
Thank you in advance!What is the name of your state?
I recently negotiated a deal to purchase a boat in Southern California (I live in Victoria, BC, Canada). The negotiation has been on going for about three weeks I had the boat locally inspected and last week we finally came up with a deal that we both agreed on. I received written and verbal confirmation from the individual and his wife that the deal was done and that they had the titles to the boat and trailer and everything was ready to be picked up. The negotiated price is clearly stated in the emails. Since I live in Canada it takes a lot of planning to bring the boat back to Canada, through customs etc.
I actually ended up purchasing a one ton diesel truck in their immediate area to tow the boat home with, and purchased a one way NON refundable airline ticket (for next Wednesday Aug 16). I did this only after confirming with the seller that the deal was done and that I was fully committed to buying the boat and trailer. I verbally and via email offered a deposit using my Paypal account to secure the deal, and also called the seller immediately after purchasing the airline ticket to let them know that I was fully committed to buying the boat. I received emails back saying "don't worry you don't need to send a deposit, you can pay when you pick it up, the boat is yours, we won't sell it on you!"
During this time I have been advertising the boat for sale (the type of boat is very sought after in our region). I actually met with an individual and pre-sold the boat to him and received a deposit as well as a written agreement giving him first purchase rights on the boat. My profit would have been in the $10,000 dollar range.
So my flight is booked (Wednesday, Aug 16,06) and paid for, my new (used) one ton truck is bought and waiting to tow the boat home and low and behold I receive a message on my home answering machine when I got home today saying:
"Kevin, its Eric. I know we kind of have a deal on the boat but, I have two guys here with cash in hand and they are offering me $1000 more than our deal, they saw it in the boat trader and came to have a look, I'm going to try to call you on your cell phone, but I have to do what’s best for me and my family and I need as much money as I can get out of this boat..." I have been calling him constantly on his home and mobile phone since I heard the message, and he will not answer or call me back (I have left several messages on both).
He was fully aware of the situation, I was very clear about purchasing the flight and the one ton truck, and made every attempt to pay a deposit. They (him and his wife) told me not to worry they wouldn't sell the boat "the deal was done!" Now I'm stuck with a one ton truck in Southern California which I purchased just to tow the boat home, a non refundable one way ticket to S. California and to top it off I had pre-sold the boat for about a $10,000 dollar profit!!
So my question is; do I have grounds to sue them? If I do what is the maximum amount in small claims court? They are located near Redlands California, if I do have a case I will hire someone local, but I don't want to throw much more money at this deal, could a law student handle this for me? Do I need to appear to sue them or can I have someone represent me?
Thank you in advance!What is the name of your state?