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back to article Bloke flogs $40 B&W printer on Craigslist, gets $12,000 legal bill

A Massachusetts accountant has vowed never to sell anything on Craigslist again, after getting embroiled in a nearly seven-year legal fight over the quality of a printer he sold online. In 2009, Doug Costello sold a monochrome printer to Gersh Zavodnik in Indiana for $40, plus about $25 in shipping charges. Shortly afterwards …

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    1. cray74
      Reply Icon

      Re: Broken laws

      Do they understand the concept of proof of postage?

      Some US courts do. A family member had a bit of a tussle with the IRS over the ability to act as a tax accountant. The IRS's position in federal court was that it had mailed a warning months earlier and thus the accountant needed a 5 years in prison, plus a ludicrous fine.

      The judge observed the IRS agent couldn't demonstrate any proof of postage or receipt of the warning. Accordingly, the judge decided that undermined the IRS's claim that the family member was knowingly, willfully violating the law, and thus the stiffer charges would not apply. There was a felony conviction out of it, but only a few months probation and a modest fine.

      2 0 Reply
  2. Stevie

    Bah!

    Could I just say that with regard to WWII you have to be in it to win it.

    I seriously doubt any of the loudmouthed posturing done in these hallowed halls is being done by anyone who saw active service in WWII. I'll go further and state that the number who were alive during rationing who post here is likely to be measured in integers safely storable on a commodore pet.

    So. Belt up the lorrayer as My grandmother used to say before the bad health brought about by a poor diet due mostly to wartime food shortages killed her. My Graddad had gone earlier, having survived the trenches of WWI and a landing at Anzio.

    0 0 Reply
    1. BongoJoe
      Reply Icon

      Re: Bah!

      I'll go further and state that the number who were alive during rationing who post here is likely to be measured in integers safely storable on a commodore pet.

      Rationing was abolished in '54.

      There are a good number of grey beards on here but I would say that there are good number of us oldies who may even be in their sixties...

      1 0 Reply
      1. Stevie
        Reply Icon

        Re: Bah!

        So you contend that the number of people over the age of 62 who start and continue slanging matches over World War II in the comment pages of El Reg is higher than 255?

        Proof or tell it to the marines.

        0 0 Reply
  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Was it ....

    ..an HP printer?

    0 0 Reply
  4. Grunchy Silver badge

    Holy Cow!

    This guy needs to set up a legal defense fund, I'd donate to it.

    And for the record, I'll donate to anybody who challenges Scientology too. I'll stump up $100.

    The legal defense fund has to be "anonymous" because I want to make sure they don't start chasing me also.

    Get it? Anonymous.

    0 0 Reply
    1. SpammFreeEmail
      Reply Icon

      If you want some fun about screwballtology track down a TV show called The Path.

      Good fun can be had by all.

      0 0 Reply
  5. Joerg

    Judges and lawyers on heavy drugs are the real criminals here!

    The corrupted justice system made of mad judges and lawyers with brains fried by drugs use/abuse. Some really heavy drugs indeed.

    All these judges and lawyers should be killed as traitors and replaced with some better people. This is a corrupted dangerous justice system that is just killing all of us. The world is getting worse thanks to these criminals. And the real criminals love them so much because these bad people are helping terrorists and criminals of all sorts 24/7 and that can't keep going on forever, either these get terminated or the world ends due to them.

    0 4 Reply
    1. Havin_it
      Reply Icon

      Re: Judges and lawyers on heavy drugs are the real criminals here!

      Do you have a newsletter?

      0 0 Reply
  6. TeeCee Gold badge
    Mushroom

    Why the lawyers?

    Surely it's cheaper to hire some no-questions-asked type to blow the useless, parasitic little shit's brains out?

    I always think that if more people actually did this, these problems just wouldn't exist. At all.

    1 0 Reply
    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Why the lawyers?

      Better, safer to SWAT the guy. With luck the police will shoot the bastard (or police will shoot the bastard after being sued by him).

      0 0 Reply
  7. Gazman

    Perfect example of Merton's Law

    I.e. the law of unintended consequences.

    Stuff like the 'default admissions in evidence' under Rule 36 was originally introduced to speed cases up and cut costs for parties. But once a litigation troll gets hold ...

    1 0 Reply
  8. Marty McFly Silver badge
    Mushroom

    Gersh Zavodnik...

    ....is an Alpha Hotel.

    (And in case he is reading this, it means Aggressive & Hostile. Any misinterpretation is on his part.)

    0 0 Reply
  9. Mr. A. N. Onymous

    Everyone repeat after me: "what an asshole"

    1 0 Reply
  10. RoboticRabbit

    Some people need to be locked up in tiny little padded rooms and fed lots of happy drugs all day. Our serial litigationist here is the prime example.

    1 0 Reply
  11. Ebec

    are they all mental or something , i can't even see how this could go to court without the said printer to start with

    1 0 Reply

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