Ebay Lawsuit threat?!?!

[dav_eagle]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? NY
I am writing concerning a recent ebay issue that I've encountered. I purchased a sweater for my daughter for Christmas. The seller stated the condition to be excellent. It arrived and was faded, had small stains on one sleeve and I also noted a small repaired snag on the front. After a dialog with the seller, I reluctantly mailed it back with the promise of a refund if she thought that it was not as she described it. The sweater originally cost me $2.99 plus $4 s/h. I paid $4.30 to mail it back. When she received it she sent my two refunds...original and also return shipping(though only $3.85 and paypal took $.41 more from that for their fees...$.86 loss to me.) She also attached a nasty note telling me that she planned to sue me for damaging the sweater, when I mearly returned it with all the flaws noted. Two days after the refund, I received another note stating that she had contacted her local authorities and was sueing me for internet fraud and petty theft and that I would be receiving notifications to appear in court within a months time(she's in FL). Firstly, can she honestly sue me when she lied in her auction and also, I have no idea what she's done to the sweater since my returning it? Is this just an idle threat or will I really need to go to court over $10 and a lie? I'm really upset about this and don't know how to handle the situation, so I'm writing to see what I should do or even think at this point. Thanks in advance for your help over something so incredibly petty IMO.

 

[divgradcurl]

Firstly, can she honestly sue me when she lied in her auction and also, I have no idea what she's done to the sweater since my returning it?

Yes. Anyone can sue anyone else for anything. Doesn't mean they'll win.

Is this just an idle threat or will I really need to go to court over $10 and a lie?

Well, you can't just ignore things -- if she really does go ahead and file suit, you will need to respond to that, or get a default judgment rendered against you -- even though it probably won't be for much money, it will go on your credit report, and you don't want that if you can avoid it.

Wait until she files (if she does), then just make a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction -- if you live in NY, she has to come to NY to sue you.

 

[racer72]

Wait until she files (if she does), then just make a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction -- if you live in NY, she has to come to NY to sue you.

Not true in cases such as this. Florida would have jurisdiction based on the fact that is where the transaction, goods and/or services for payment, took place. If the seller did obtain a judgment, it would have to be domesticated in New York to be valid. This would cost the seller quite a bit of money that cannot be recovered. What I would do, as an active eBay buyer and seller, post a negative feedback and email the seller and state that she is not to contact you again concerning the deal unless she wishes to be fully truthful in her sales. I would also ask how you could be charged with petty theft when you returned the sweater and she voluntarily refunded your money. Your not dealing with someone with a full deck. Then go buy your daughter a new sweater, she deserves it.

 

[divgradcurl]

Florida would have jurisdiction based on the fact that is where the transaction, goods and/or services for payment, took place.

racer72, do you have a case cite for this? I don't know of any case that suggests a single purchase over the internet establishes sufficient minimum contacts to find personal jurisdiction. There are cases that have found that someone advertising for sales over the internet may establish sufficient minimum contacts (although the law in this area is far from decided, and varies by jurisdiction), but I don't know of a single case in any jurisdiction that suggests a buyer establishes minimum contacts simply by buying a single object off of the internet.

 

[racer72]

I have been sued twice over eBay deals gone bad. I was the seller and ran into a couple of yahoos that could not be satisfied. I was sued in Ohio and California and in both cases the lawsuits were dismissed based on lack of jurisdiction. And that was my sole defense. The internet does not constitute a presence in another state such as a retailer with a physical presence or someone soliciting business through the US mail. You will find threads throughout these forums of unhappy eBay buyers howling about the injustice they recieved. In every case they are told to they have to sue in the seller's state. That is based on the location of the transaction that took place.

 

[divgradcurl]

racer72,

It looks we agree with each other -- the seller is in FL, but the buyer is in NY -- that's why I said if she got sued in FL, she could file to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction.

You wrote:

Not true in cases such as this. Florida would have jurisdiction based on the fact that is where the transaction, goods and/or services for payment, took place. If the seller did obtain a judgment, it would have to be domesticated in New York to be valid.

I think you just got the states backwards.

Alls well that ends well...

 

[racer72]

No problem.

 

[suds1821]

what can i do?

I am located in Maryland (but live permanently in New Jersey). I bought 5 items from a user in New York and never received them. He agreed to refund me at a certain date, then claimed to have sent the items eight days after i was supposed to be refunded. I have email proof of his agreement to refund me...what can i do?

 

[racer72]

what can i do?

Start your own thread, hijacking other threads is considered rude.

 

[coffycup93]

How ironic. The poster asked an honest question--was looking for help-- and you were rude to them in just one dismissive statement.

 

[racer72]

You know what's even more rude? Being a frickin' moron that brings back a thread that died over a month ago. Try reading the forum rules dillweed. You don't hijack other folks threads and once a thread is dead, you leave it alone. What a maroon.....