JohnnySC

I have a quickie for you guys. I had a set of wheels off my old 2000 Volvo s80 that I was selling to this dude. I accepted his money and was going to send him the wheels but ended up deceiding not to sell the wheels afterall. Anyways, I sent his money back and now he wants me to buy him new wheels because he sold his old ones and his car is in his garage on blocks. He is claiming this is a breach of contract, but the deal was done outside of ebay. Does he have any grounds for this??? I think the guy is just a bone head.

SupraCoup3

I'm just venturing a guess but you could have entered an orally binding contract.... hmmm well don't put a whole lotta weight on my advice... I'm only 18 but my dad does get sued non stop, so it might be seen as an orally binding contract, but the fact that there is no clause in that contract that penalizes either party for breach of contract you might be able to fight it off. That's just the way i see it...


good luck.

The Ikon

He's going to take you to "Judge Mathis" and WIN!!! Once you accepted his money, he owned the rims!!! The only thing you were supposed to do is send him HIS new rims... As Supra stated you all had a verbal contract.... which was sealed when you accepted the money... If he sold his wheels........................................................................................................................................

You will more than likey lose if he sues you... This is from a lawyer in IL/MS.... Not sure about MI...

JohnnySC

well doesn't this suck

joegolf

Two issues:

1. Did you have a legally binding agreement. I believe yes. When money exchanged hands, I agree that the rims were now his property!

2. If he sues you, will you lose. I think you will definitely lose. But... that is where our judicial system sucks, or in this case, works in your favor. He wins in small claims court. You still don't give him the wheels. Basically, he would have to spend a fortune to collect on the judgment. He can't just come into your house and take the wheels. He simply has a judgment which is very difficult to enforce. He can lein your car or something, but by the time he pays lawyers, he would be better off just walking away.

Bottom line: I think yu should honor your agreemnt without him having to go to court. Whatis your word and honor worth?

Just my two cents.

Joe

JohnnySC

The only contact we had was via email. And another note, I never cashed his check, turned around and sent it back to him. I just don't want tp part with the wheels now because I just found out my buddy is purchasing one of those cars and he wants the rims.

mjames08

Don't under estimate the power of email in court!! My friend sold some car parts to someone on the internet, all via email no ebay or anything, and didn't receive all of his money. He took the guy to small claims court and showed the judge the emails, and the judge accepted them as legal documents.... He won!

The Ikon

#1 you are correct!!!

#2 He can get property WITHOUT a lawyer... because I got $2K judgement from dry cleaners that lost 3 suits. They tried to wait me out... I went and got the paper work to lein property.. The court WITHOUT a lawyer sent a deputy sheriff with a notice that I could take his(owners car) in 14 days if I was not paid it full.... I got my check the next business day...

My brother is a lawyer as he said you may keep the rims but you are going to have to buy him some new ones.... It's really your choice now......... Because you accepted the $$$ and he sold his rims is not going to help you when he sues you... plus he may try to get extra for a rental car since his car is not driveable, because of you breaching the agreement...

*Email coorespondence is very credible in small claims court.. But it varies from Judge to judge on how much the email info is worth...

Johnny tell your buddy to go to Discounttire.com

Keith13b

iTrader: (3)

The KEY factor here is....Did the buyer cancel the original order for the rims, or did you, the seller, back out.

If you backed out first...sorry, you gotta give him the rims- you have a contract. If he backed out, then no problem because he broke the contract, not you.

JohnnySC

I backed out, but I never cashed his check.

Keith13b

iTrader: (3)

What state do you live in? The civil laws do change radically when you go to different areas. But even though you didn't cash his check, it doesn't matter. You had an agreement to sell something at an agreed price. He paid, but you didn't deliver. Unless your state has a special clause about verbal contracts, then you must give him the rims; by law. He does have the right to sue you. The question is....will he. It costys $$$ to file a lawsuit. Even small claims is a couple of hundred out of pocket $$. In florida, loosing party pays all legal fees (including costs for supiena's [I know I can't spell] and documenting fees). If he is just some poor kid who had to scrape the $$ to get the rims, he most likely won't take you to court.

Me on the other hand, I know the law through stubborn experience and have sued many of people in Small claims court. Never lost once. So be careful. If this guy is smart, he can take you to court, and it will cost yYOU at least 500$over the cost of the rims if no lawyer is involved. If he takes you to civil court, then you can expect in the thousands for reasonable attorny's fees.

Good luck. Justy out of curiosity, Why did you back out of the deal?

JohnnySC

I backed out of the deal because my buddy just purchased the same car and I gave him the rims instead.

The Ikon

In the state of MS, small claims court is only $50 bucks to sue someone and a day or half day off work Actually you can sue someone in civil court without a lawyer IF you can get the forms and know how to do it.

The Ikon

If he is really your buddy, tell him to return the rims. He should understand the situation.......

Or did he sell his ole' rims too? If so you may be up the creek...

JohnnySC

Yeah, I am probably going to get the rims back from my buddy. The other guy is cranked because his car is on blocks in his garage.