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How to sue in small claims court against your favorite corporation

By ruderod in Internet
Thu May 18, 2006 at 12:18:40 AM EST
Tags: Internet (all tags)
Internet

Well here we are again, discussing the story of the little guy against the big corporate borgs.  Here you will see how to file a form in small claims court and stand up for your rights. This is the story of one man against the machine.  


This story discusses how to use the small claims courts to resolve disputes. My story here involves domain names. If you didn't know, a domain name is a thing like "KURO5HIN.ORG". It is the name, a series of words that you buy that you associate to a computer on the internet. That name can run a website. You can buy them, if no one else has it, or you buy it from someone else willing to sell it. Here is my story. I have lost probably about 10 different domains because I have not paid the bills. If you don't pay the bill every year to re-register the names, they go back into the public space where others can get them. In this story I paid the bills but my domain names were lost anyway.

In March, 2006 I have been paying my bills and one of my registars says I own eight domain names, or domains, all expiring in six months. You see, I use several different registars. I use dotster.com, register.com, and another cheap one called registerfly.com. Those are three different companies that do business in this realm. So anyway I have a lot of domain names. I have to keep track of when they expire. Looking at my account on register.com, they say I am ok. Good deal right? You don't want them to expire.
Not so! No, two of the domains actually expired in January and were transferred! I was never sent an email, and their system showed I have them with expirations of December this year. Basically their system had some programming problem (bugs) that caused this. So the way I see it, the company had a programming error that caused me to lose the domains. Four domains all together, but only two of them were taken up by someone else how had already setup portal websites with them. The shock set in and I was furious. Raging mad that my idea, my names I had thought up using my creativity, are now gone from my possession, probably forever.

After several calls the company told me they are "looking into it". After not hearing from the company for a week, I posted some questions on the internet about the case. Several said I had no chance and unless the domains are worth thousands, I should give up. Huh? I wasn't about to give up. I figured each domain was worth $500-2000 dollars, so I thought that was something for small claims court. Small claims court where I live is under $5000.00
I decided to sue them (register.com) in small claims court for $3000.00 and see what happens. First I called them and gave them 24 hour notice. Talk to me and we can work it out, or I go to court. You can guess what happened. I never heard from them. So off to court I went.

Filing a small claims court in Riverside California is surprisingly easy. You go to the court website and are sent to a company website where you fill out the form. After you input the information, just hit the print button!
In less than 45 minutes I had the form. That counts researching register.com, where they lived, who I needed to mail and the address where the company headquarters is. That was it, and then I had the form to give to the court. On a Thursday morning I stood in line for 2 minutes, gave the cute and friendly girl clerk the form, and $75.00 in cash needed to file a claim of that value. This was too easy!

A few things about small claims courts here. You as the person suing, you give up your right to appeal if you lose. That sucks, but it's the way it works. What really sucks is the person being sued (register.com) has the right to appeal if they lose! So when fighting a big corporation with possible unlimited legal representation, you need to keep that in mind. What if they appeal? Do you want to continue the fight in superior court? Do you have the time and is it worth it? And of course, as the person suing, if you lose the case, that is it. Keep your options open and look for alternatives to court if you think you may lose.

Laws vary from state to state on what you can sue for. One of the first parts in a legal action is you need to tell them they are being sued. When you file a small claim, you have to serve (notify) the person being sued. This can be done through registered mail, from the court for $10.00 dollars, or you can pay someone to go serve them personally. That costs $50-$300.00 depending on location. I used the ten dollar option of certified mail as I figured someone at the big company would sign for the letter. It's cheaper but less reliable.

After filing my case, I waited. A week goes by, then two weeks. Checking the court website shows no return receipt. Why is it taking so long, hmm. . .what to do? Finally three weeks later the court gets the receipt. Court is on and scheduled for Monday! Charge!
A few days go by, and two days before big Monday, the attorney calls and wants to settle for $500.00. Bingo, we are in the game of settlement, and at the last minute as it often goes.
She is a nice lady who doesn't work for register.com, only represents them. She agrees that I seem to be a nice person that wants to settle this without going to court. She is smart for doing so. Court was scheduled for Moreno Valley and it's miserable summer heat we would be in. She says the company will offer $500.00. Cary the attorney seems genuine and we discuss details.

"Did you know they lost four of my domains? They re-registered two of them for free. That is free, I'm helping your case if you didn't know that". I say.

"Actually I didn't know that. They do seem to be a good company." Cary says. She then tells me something I didn't know that would help my case she says. Again I like the way this is going so far.

"I don't think $500 is enough for my loss." I say.
She soundly answers. "Well you know that it will make it more expensive for consumers if they pay people like you large amounts like that."
I'm not convinced. I ask her some questions about the contract I "clicked" on. The click is a legal equivalent of a signature in this case, she says.

"So you are telling me that because of what it says there, register.com is not liable for losing my domain? That is ridiculous. What am I paying them for? I don't think a judge would buy that." I said.

She replies with a slight tremble in her voice. I think she is unsure at this point.
"Usually $500.00 is the maximum awarded in these cases. . .but yes we are not liable for the loss, that is in the contract."

At this point I'm a little worried. Could I actually lose in small claims court? I couldn't decide what to do. . .should I take the $500 at this point?
I decide and tell her that I want at least $1000.00 for loss of both domains, tell me you can pay that and I will think about it. That night I head home, wondering what would happen. Before I head to my room, I get an idea. I think again about another option. I call Cary for a last minute discussion.

"What if instead of $1000.00, they offer $500 in cash and $500.00 in services from the company. That way they continue to keep me as a customer." I say.

"Oh, i'm working on the case right now. But that might work. I'll stop working on the case and I'll ask them. We will talk in the morning." Cary replies and we hang up.

I think she was bluffing and not working on my case. My guess she was sipping on a martini watching 7th Heaven. But anyway, I was a little worried. I slept that night wondering what would happen. If you like poker, you probably like litigation. If you try to settle an agreement before court, it is sort of like playing poker. Unlike court, it is like poker in slow motion, for the evidence is hidden to some extent. You discuss events and issues, try to come to agreement without showing the other side all the cards you have to battle with. It's good to really do your research before you get to this step. With some civil legal matters, it starts in court but you really don't want to go there unless necessary.

The next day I get a voicemail from Cary. They agreed on my offer. I get the fax and send it in, signed and dated. Now I have a check in the mail for $1000.00
The entire experience was painless and actually a little bit fun. I hope you all stand up for your rights next time someone causes you grief. Remember that small claims court is not for everyone. Issues involving a small company or one person suing another person may be better solved using other means. There are groups like the Better Business Bureau that might help resolve disagreements. In my case I had felt I had no other choice.

In the battle of team consumer versus team corporate, you need to be aware of all your available resources.

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How to sue in small claims court against your favorite corporation | 54 comments (25 topical, 29 editorial, 0 hidden)
register.com sucks (2.50 / 4) (#7)
by j1mmy on Mon May 15, 2006 at 03:25:42 PM EST

I transferred all my domains to registerfly. Register.com constantly harassed me with promotions and stuff even when I told them not to, and called me repeatedly to get me to renew way in advance of expiration.

did you get your filing fee back? (2.50 / 4) (#26)
by r3u8rb on Tue May 16, 2006 at 05:47:07 PM EST



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Join me on irc.slashnet.org #Kuro5hin.org - the official Kuro5hin IRC channel.
I wonder how much the lawyer earned. nt (2.50 / 4) (#27)
by rlazur on Tue May 16, 2006 at 07:32:09 PM EST



I was part of a class action suit (2.75 / 4) (#31)
by IceTitan on Tue May 16, 2006 at 08:34:57 PM EST

against register.com. I kept getting harrased by their ads and offers and eventually lawyers about my share of the settlement. I think I would have gotten $5 off any of their services. Every email I'd get, I'd reply with fuck off or something crude and abusive, cause if there's one thing in this world I hate, it's lawyers.
Nuke 'em from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.
-1 misleading (2.66 / 6) (#36)
by livus on Wed May 17, 2006 at 03:58:39 AM EST

You did't even make it to court.

Thus, I'd be willing to overlook the UScentricity and the Diary feel to this if it was also +1 informative but unfortunately it isn't.

It's a pity, because I've successfully taken someone to court under our system and wouldn't mind knowing how things are done over there.


---
HIREZ substitute.
be concrete asshole, or shut up. - CTS
I guess I skipped school or something to drink on the internet? - lonelyhobo
I'd like to hope that any impression you got about us from internet forums was incorrect. - debillitatus
I consider myself trolled more or less just by visiting the site. HollyHopDrive

-1 (2.66 / 6) (#37)
by daveybaby on Wed May 17, 2006 at 08:47:41 AM EST

Really, really badly written, and also this isnt really much of a howto. There's a few bits of useful information in there, in the end you didnt even go to court and decided to settle, so this isnt really any use if you want to actually sue someone.

Oh, and by the way, domain name squatters are a significant part of the fucking reason the domain registration process is in the state is. So, personally, the fact you made money out of this is actually a shitty outcome for the rest of us. Thats not really anything to do with the -1, i just wanted to point out that youre just a parasite who had his meal ticket stolen by another fucking parasite.

I despise domain squatters... (2.75 / 4) (#40)
by chilambalam on Thu May 18, 2006 at 12:18:35 AM EST

But I would have voted this up if had been better written. I mean, this is really nothing useful in my opinion.

I think if it were written as a more truthful article ("Confessions of a Domain Squatter") and gone into the motivations etc behind doing that, would have been more interesting.

Cloaking a story as a victim sucks.



How to take on the MPAA - and set a landmark case (2.00 / 4) (#41)
by hulkster on Thu May 18, 2006 at 12:29:07 AM EST

Read this guys story - nutshell summary is MPAA says they plan to sue him because he download illegal video. He says go ahead as he didn't do it. Wants a full trial to address MPAA strong-arm tactics.

This made Section? (2.83 / 6) (#42)
by More Ron on Thu May 18, 2006 at 12:12:45 PM EST

I think there's a kink in the Auto-Post algortihm.

Ik geef u een recept voor zetpillen.

You seem to be suffering from a delusion. (none / 1) (#46)
by Kasreyn on Sun May 21, 2006 at 07:49:20 PM EST

Re: your first paragraph, maybe I can shed some light on your obvious confusion.
Well here we are again, discussing the story of the little guy against the big corporate borgs. Here you will see how to file a form in small claims court and stand up for your rights. This is the story of one man against the machine.
Hint: you're not the little guy. You're a domain name squatter.

That means you're the bad guy... geddit?

Hopefully you've found this short lesson helpful.


"Extenuating circumstance to be mentioned on Judgement Day:
We never asked to be born in the first place."

R.I.P. Kurt. You will be missed.
Sorry pal, (1.50 / 2) (#47)
by trhurler on Sun May 21, 2006 at 10:10:32 PM EST

But extortion is not a legitimate business. Go fuck yourself.

--
'God dammit, your posts make me hard.' --LilDebbie

the BBB is just a /dev/null buffer (none / 1) (#51)
by Saber RICO on Sat May 27, 2006 at 07:05:21 AM EST

to shield companies from being directly in the line of fire. according to what i've heard they never resolve complaints.
--
"YOU HAVE BEEN FINED by Delirium FOR GROSS MISUSE OF THE TROLL-SUMMONING MECHANISM"
How to sue in small claims court against your favorite corporation | 54 comments (25 topical, 29 editorial, 0 hidden)
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