Im being sued

[Brian Hasledalen 2]

I gave no written, or verbal warranty. He is saying I sold an unsafe vehicle and that is the basis of his suit. The thing is he took it out for a test drive WITH his wife came back and bought it. It does not make any sense to me. he drove it home about 50 miles and never called to say there was anything wrong with the vehicle until he brought it to a shop, which he fixed alot of the stuff (supposidly) before he even called me about it.... I just bought a f150, I had to do about 800.00 worth of work to it, but I bought a used truck and it was sold as is. I knew I was taking that risk when I bought the f150. Even after the 800 im not angry with the seller, its just maintenace stuff that goes wrong on any vehicle with high miles. I am going to consult with an attorney and see what he thinks of the case, and what direction it should go in, as well as if I should counter sue this guy for anything, I dont wanna add insult to injury and have more money come out of his pocket to pay me...... Man I wish I could go back to that day and deny that sell to this guy.

 

[Tom Schindler]

I dont wanna add insult to injury and have more money come out of his pocket to pay me......

Why not. Has this man caused you to worry? Every time you see a cop car, do you think he could pull you over and make some story up about you??



Burn his ass. Sue the pants out of him. Make him pay for being a Pr___.





Tom

 

[H D]

I'd say he is insulting you. I hate litigation and would only ever use it as a last resort for a major issue. This is petty and he needs to be knocked down a few pegs, IMO. If you go into court being passive, the judge may decide to go with whoever will complain less about the judgment. Don't let that be you.

 

[Richard L]

Brian,

I don't know if Minnisota has any laws regarding selling an "Unsafe" vehicle, but I would guess that "Unsafe" would require flunking some kind of State Safety inspection and not just because he didn't like something about the vehicle.



I think the fact that he test drove it and said nothing, and then proceded to drive the vehicle home a distance of 50 miles would clearly indicate that he did not think the vehicle was unsafe when he purchased it, and if there is no laws preventing the sale of an unsafe vehicle, he is out of gas on this case. Even if there is a law regarding the sale of an unsafe vehicle, he would only be able to void the sale...not charge you for the repairs..



...Rich

 

[MikeSondra Grossen]

I'd be curious how many miles he has put on this "unsafe" vehicle since he took it home?



Sondra

 

[H D]

I'd be curious how many miles he has put on this "unsafe" vehicle since he took it home?

That could be a very good indicator of just how unsafe he feels it is. That is, unless he has fixed everything he thinks is "unsafe."



I really hate this for ya. Just get a lawyer. Sometimes unfair expenses are necessary in life.

 

[Johnny O]

If the vehicle really had that many problems, the correct response would have been to NOT fix it, call you up and ask you to take it back and give him back his money.

 

[Brian Hasledalen 2]

I agree with you JohnnyO I would have expected atleast a phone call stating these things were bad before he went ahead and fixed them. Kind of rediculouse that he fixed alot of it than let me know about it. I have all his emails so the judge would see the order and times in which he contacted me as well as the voice mail he left me. I am going to contact a lawyer and see what he says.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Sounds to me like buyers remorse. I suspect he started having some "little things" done by a mechanic, and along the way probably got advised of some pending, bigger maintenance issues that would soon need to be done, and because of that wants out from under the vehicle.



That is the beauty of buying a used vehicle with high mileage and a few years under her belt. Expect the unexpected.



There is no state that I know of that the seller has to go out and figure out what MIGHT be wrong, or what could go wrong next. That responsibility falls on the buyer, and is the reason that everyone who knows will tell you that when buying a used vehicle from a private seller ALWAYS get a mechanics inspection from a trusted mechanic first.



The only obligation the seller has is to communicate any KNOWN ISSUES. If there are things you didn't know about, or couldn't know about, well, then that's not your fault.



Also, regarding the whole issue of "unsafe", I think he would have to prove first that the vehicle is unsafe, and that you KNEW it was unsafe.



The burden of proof here is on him (I think). He has the tougher case. You simply need to repeat the phrases:



- I sold the vehicle to him as-is, with no written, verbal, or implied warrant



- At the time I sold the vehicle to him, I was not aware of any mechanical issues or any other issues that would make the vehicle unsafe.



Hopefully, this is a case where the truth, and the law will prevail.



TJR

 

[brian brown 3]

Don't worry about this. He will lose.

 

[Richard L]

TJR,

My understanding is Massachusetts is one of several states that require all Used vehicles sold to pass a state safety inspection within 7 days or the buyer can give the car back and get a 100% refund....Even if there are no expressed or implied warranties. After 7 days, the buyer is stuck with the vehicle.



Brian appears to live in Minnisota, so I don't know if they have any similar laws but the Buyer would have to come to court and present proof that the vehicle failed the inspection, and even then, his only option would be to return the vehicle to the seller and get his money back. He would still be out the money he claims he paid for the repairs and Brian is under no obigation to pay for any repairs the Buyer made to the vehicle. This is begining to sound like a scam.:fire:



...Rich

 

[Johnny O]

I was thinking along the same lines as Richard L. Does your state have mandatory vehicle inspections and did your Trac pass the last time? And how long ago was it? We also don't know if the cop's mechanic is his bud and drummed up some stuff to make it look good for him.

 

[Brian Hasledalen 2]

We have no emissions test or anything in MN. we just pay to have our tabs renewed every year and that is it... I looked at the link I was given by one of our fellow tracers and it is to the Minnesota attorney general and if the judge goes by MN law I should be in the clear, I dont know if a judge has to abide by the law or if he can choose to do something else.

 

[Jacob Dryer]

Any updates?

 

[Brian Hasledalen 2]

No updates as of now, My court date is june 17th. I will let people know of any updates. If the law is stuck to it should be a slam dunk, and i should walk in and be out in less than 10 minutes.

 

[Les]

Good luck...

 

[Brian Hasledalen 2]

Well I went to court today and to my surprise, or not, The plaintiff did not show up. Maybe he went on this site, or maybe his fake lawyer of an uncle told him he would lose. The Judge was kinda surprised that I was there and the Plaintiff was not. usually it is the other way around. At this point I have to wait a week to see if the plaintiff ran into some unforseen problems that would make it impossible to make it to court, and if not the case will be thrown out. What a waste of a perfectly good workday. If it comes down to having to go to court agin, I will be filing a counter suit for lost wages and such. I wanna thank everyone for their support and wisdom threw this. I truely do miss my sport trac...... Brian

 

[Bob McDonald]

Sounds like good news. If that scumbag does get the case re-instated, you definitely should cross file for lost wages. IMHO

 

[Richard L]

Brian,

Sounds like he was trying to run a bluff on you thinking you would give in. I doubt that he had any good reason for missing court, even if he is a police officer, but you will know soon enough.



You could have filed a counter suit against him, unfortunately you cannot sue for lost wages because you had to go to court to defend yourself in a lawsuit....especially in Small Claims Court. I know it does not sound fair, but that is pretty much the law of the land.



Just be happy that you are probably going to win your case, and prove that the guy who bought your Sport Trac is just a jerk.



...Rich

 

[Johnny O]

You called his bluff and won. Rejoice and be glad (in a week).



I still think he was just trying to get a rebate.