Can someone help me determine the category for "nature of suit"?

[jrmade]

Hello. I am working on filing a case against an exchange that I had used to buy crypto through. The problem is that I was hit by a phishing attack. And this attack was enabled by a form that is publicly available on the exchange's website. The attacker just had to have knowledge of the victim's email address. When it was entered into that form, the victim would receive an email from that exchange. What's more, the email appeared to come from a particular person/employee of that exchange. And that name was used for a solid 24 hours. So the attacker just had to use the form and enter an email address that he/she had access to. Learn the name that was currently being used, and then go back to the form and enter their victim's email address. Then call the victim as that employee from that exchange and scare the hell out of the victim. So I am holding this exchange responsible for the damages that occurred due to this attack. They were aware of the problem with the form. They were the ones who told me about it, their legal team did. And after I pointed out what it did to me and how I am holding them responsible, they totally changed the form. It now doesn't ask for a ton of info and it validates the email address entered before sending out an email. And it doesn't apply a name, employee's name, to the email either. So what would I check off for the "nature of the suit"? Thanks in advance.

 

[Zigner]

What US state?
In what court are you filing?
What damages were incurred?

 

[jrmade]

What US state?
In what court are you filing?
What damages were incurred?

Connecticut. The attacker scared the hell out of me and stole all of my crypto. I wish I saw a box for "negligence" (which enabled the damages that I've suffered).

 

[Zigner]

In what court are you filing?
What are your damages?

 

[jrmade]

I think I may have found the info I'm looking for: "Negligence lawsuits are civil cases, also known as "tort actions". The plaintiff has the burden of proving all elements of the negligence tort by a preponderance of the evidence. "

 

[quincy]

I think I may have found the info I'm looking for: "Negligence lawsuits are civil cases, also known as "tort actions". The plaintiff has the burden of proving all elements of the negligence tort by a preponderance of the evidence. "

Your complaint seems to be with the one who stole your information.

 

[adjusterjack]

I am holding them responsible

Like blaming the bank when a crook forges your signature.

Good luck with that.

 

[zddoodah]

So what would I check off for the "nature of the suit"?

What are you talking about? "Check off"? Are you referring to some sort of civil case cover sheet? You mentioned Connecticut but didn't mention if you're filing in state or federal court.

I think I may have found the info I'm looking for: "Negligence lawsuits are civil cases, also known as "tort actions". The plaintiff has the burden of proving all elements of the negligence tort by a preponderance of the evidence. "

What are you quoting?

Most importantly: do you have a lawyer, and, if not (as appears to be the case), why not?

 

[Taxing Matters]

I think I may have found the info I'm looking for: "Negligence lawsuits are civil cases, also known as "tort actions". The plaintiff has the burden of proving all elements of the negligence tort by a preponderance of the evidence. "

Correct, negligence is a type of tort claim. However, before you go trotting off to file a civil lawsuit in court, read your contract with the exchange carefully. It may require that you arbitrate the dispute instead taking it to court. If it doesn't require arbitration, see if it has provision that specifies in what court(s) you may file your lawsuit and wich state's law will apply. You may find it's a court in some other state. If you've got to travel some significant distance and get a hotel room, buy meals, etc that will raise the costs you incur, and those travel costs are not recoverable in a lawsuit. Finally, see if it has a provision in which the loser pays the winner's fees. If it does it raises the risks of the lawsuit. Once you've carefully read the contract you'll have a much better idea of what you are facing.

You also have the problem that the phisher is the one primarily responsible for your loss, and the exchange will also claim that you were contributorily negligent by not being vigligant enough to check out who you were dealing with before giving the crook the information he/she needed to grab your crypto. If the court determines you were contributorily negligent, that may reduce or even eliminate any damages you'd win from the crypto exchange.

Finally, in a number of states, evidence of changes the exchange made after your loss is not admissible to help prove your loss for two reasons. The first is a legal reason. Under the law of evidence those changes are not deemed any admission of fault because the exchange could have made the changes for any number of reasons, not just because it believed it's prior set up was negligent. The second is a policy reason. If the rules of evidence allowed for those changes to be used against you it would discourage the exchange from making those changes and end up potentially putting even more customers at risk of loss.

How much money did you lose? If's a large amount you'll want to see a personal injury attorney to review your case and see how good of a case you may have and what you may realistically get out of it. (Personal injury claims are the most common type of negligence claims but many personal injury lawyers will handle this kind of negligence claim too.) Typically the initial consultation is free, so all you'd have to lose is a bit your time to consult one or more attorneys to find out what they have to say. That should give you a pretty good idea of whether it's worth pursuing this.

Note that your loss from the theft may be tax deductible. While that doesn't get your crypto back it can reduce the pain of the loss a bit. See IRS tax topic 515.

 

[quincy]

Did you report the phishing attack and theft to the police?

 

[jrmade]

Like blaming the bank when a crook forges your signature.

Good luck with that.

Thank you for your reply. But the example you gave is not nearly the equivalent of what happened to me. Not even close.

 

[jrmade]

Did you report the phishing attack and theft to the police?

Yes, and he investigated it as a criminal matter.

 

[jrmade]

Correct, negligence is a type of tort claim. However, before you go trotting off to file a civil lawsuit in court, read your contract with the exchange carefully. It may require that you arbitrate the dispute instead taking it to court. If it doesn't require arbitration, see if it has provision that specifies in what court(s) you may file your lawsuit and wich state's law will apply. You may find it's a court in some other state. If you've got to travel some significant distance and get a hotel room, buy meals, etc that will raise the costs you incur, and those travel costs are not recoverable in a lawsuit. Finally, see if it has a provision in which the loser pays the winner's fees. If it does it raises the risks of the lawsuit. Once you've carefully read the contract you'll have a much better idea of what you are facing.

You also have the problem that the phisher is the one primarily responsible for your loss, and the exchange will also claim that you were contributorily negligent by not being vigligant enough to check out who you were dealing with before giving the crook the information he/she needed to grab your crypto. If the court determines you were contributorily negligent, that may reduce or even eliminate any damages you'd win from the crypto exchange.

Finally, in a number of states, evidence of changes the exchange made after your loss is not admissible to help prove your loss for two reasons. The first is a legal reason. Under the law of evidence those changes are not deemed any admission of fault because the exchange could have made the changes for any number of reasons, not just because it believed it's prior set up was negligent. The second is a policy reason. If the rules of evidence allowed for those changes to be used against you it would discourage the exchange from making those changes and end up potentially putting even more customers at risk of loss.

How much money did you lose? If's a large amount you'll want to see a personal injury attorney to review your case and see how good of a case you may have and what you may realistically get out of it. (Personal injury claims are the most common type of negligence claims but many personal injury lawyers will handle this kind of negligence claim too.) Typically the initial consultation is free, so all you'd have to lose is a bit your time to consult one or more attorneys to find out what they have to say. That should give you a pretty good idea of whether it's worth pursuing this.

Note that your loss from the theft may be tax deductible. While that doesn't get your crypto back it can reduce the pain of the loss a bit. See IRS tax topic 515.

Thank you for your lengthy reply. There's a lot of valuable advise there. I will look into what you've suggested. Thank you.

 

[quincy]

Yes, and he investigated it as a criminal matter.

What is the status of the criminal investigation? A criminal case can bolster any civil claim you are considering.

 

[jrmade]

Correct, negligence is a type of tort claim. However, before you go trotting off to file a civil lawsuit in court, read your contract with the exchange carefully. It may require that you arbitrate the dispute instead taking it to court. If it doesn't require arbitration, see if it has provision that specifies in what court(s) you may file your lawsuit and wich state's law will apply. You may find it's a court in some other state. If you've got to travel some significant distance and get a hotel room, buy meals, etc that will raise the costs you incur, and those travel costs are not recoverable in a lawsuit. Finally, see if it has a provision in which the loser pays the winner's fees. If it does it raises the risks of the lawsuit. Once you've carefully read the contract you'll have a much better idea of what you are facing.

You also have the problem that the phisher is the one primarily responsible for your loss, and the exchange will also claim that you were contributorily negligent by not being vigligant enough to check out who you were dealing with before giving the crook the information he/she needed to grab your crypto. If the court determines you were contributorily negligent, that may reduce or even eliminate any damages you'd win from the crypto exchange.

Finally, in a number of states, evidence of changes the exchange made after your loss is not admissible to help prove your loss for two reasons. The first is a legal reason. Under the law of evidence those changes are not deemed any admission of fault because the exchange could have made the changes for any number of reasons, not just because it believed it's prior set up was negligent. The second is a policy reason. If the rules of evidence allowed for those changes to be used against you it would discourage the exchange from making those changes and end up potentially putting even more customers at risk of loss.

How much money did you lose? If's a large amount you'll want to see a personal injury attorney to review your case and see how good of a case you may have and what you may realistically get out of it. (Personal injury claims are the most common type of negligence claims but many personal injury lawyers will handle this kind of negligence claim too.) Typically the initial consultation is free, so all you'd have to lose is a bit your time to consult one or more attorneys to find out what they have to say. That should give you a pretty good idea of whether it's worth pursuing this.

Note that your loss from the theft may be tax deductible. While that doesn't get your crypto back it can reduce the pain of the loss a bit. See IRS tax topic 515.

Your complaint seems to be with the one who stole your information.

Sure. I would love to hold that person accountable. But the way he was able to email me as an employee on demand, through the simple use of that form, put him in an undeserved position of authority. With no phone number to call the exchange, and him scaring the hell out of me for over 2 hours, got me to give in. And I only believed what he was saying due to him being able to send me valid company emails. If that wasn't available to him I would not have been fooled. I would not have been robbed.