Man sued for $30K over $40 printer he sold on Craigslist

los2188

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Man sued for $30K over $40 printer he sold on Craigslist
Selling a used, black-and-white printer through Craigslist seemed simple and straightforward to Doug Costello.

It wasn't.

What the 66-year-old Massachusetts man didn't know then is that he would spend the next 6 ½ years embroiled in a complicated and confusing legal dispute in Indiana over that printer, which, according to its buyer, was broken.

He would find himself liable for about $30,000 in damages. He would pay a lawyer at least $12,000 in his battle to escape the legal mess.
http://www.12news.com/news/nation-n...er-40-printer-he-sold-on-craigslist/234138938
 
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...alf-YEARS-court-spends-12-000-legal-fees.html

Zavodnik was apparently well aware that a litigant who doesn't respond to a filing of admissions admits to liability by default - and that's exactly what happened. Costello says he never received the requests for admissions.

Overwhelmed, Costello finally caved in and hired an attorney. He says he racked up at least $12,000 in legal bills trying to get himself out of the legal quagmire.

The case worked its way slowly through the legal system, with many judges recusing themselves, likely because they had dealt with Zavodnik (who always represents himself) in the past.

'I can assure you each and every judge here in Marion County knows who Gersh Zavodnik is,' Indianapolis attorney Chad D. Wuertz told the Detroit Free Press in 2013. 'And at the very moment one of his cases lands on their docket, they are considering how to deal with him.

In March 2015, six years after Costello placed that fateful Craigslist ad, Special Judge J. Jeffrey Edens issued a ruling against Costello giving Zavodnik a judgment of $30,044.07 for breach of contract.
 
Another example of why we need tort reform in this country but sadly we will never get it because of all of the lawyers running the government.
 
Another example of why we need tort reform in this country but sadly we will never get it because of all of the lawyers running the government.

I wonder how many are abusive of the system like the plaintiff. I don't think it is that many. What has always struck me about tort reform is that it winds up being in favor of the more powerful and more astute in the system. I do think that I could support a system that would hold people accountable for the legal fees and specific other damages if they are wanton as this man seems to be. He should be liable for his victims legal fees.
 

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