Legal Question in Business Law in California

Re: Voiding a Contract

You may have an argument that there was never a contract in the first place. There probably is no good reason to be proactive about initiating litigation, but I would need to hear more before I could provide you with a reliable response.

My office has handled several eBay disputes. I am very curious to learn more about your situation. Please feel free to call for a free consultation.

Jeff Olster

Russakow, Ryan & Johnson

225 S. Lake Avenue, 8th Floor

Pasadena, California 91101

626.683.8869

[email protected]

Re: Voiding a Contract

You seem to have a serious problem on your hands. *Mutual* mistake is a basis for voiding a contract, as is a unilateral mistake where the other party recognizes the mistake and tries to exploit it. This might have been the case if you had simply put the item up for straight sale for $2.00.

On an eBay auction, though, your opening price is not necessarily what you think your item is worth, but rather a tactical choice designed to encourage bidding. Reasonable people might well believe that you did this intentionally, hoping to entice more bidders and get a better price than you would have with a higher opening bid.

There are arguments you can make to support your position, but I strongly suggest you get an attorney on board ASAP.

While you might be able to bring a proactive suit seeking declaratory relief, I don't see any practical advantage to doing so based on the limited information you have provided. Your best bet may be to seek a negotiated settlement with the other party -- and be prepared to part with some money if you want to hold on to the item. Having an attorney negotiate for you might save you more than the legal fees, although there is no guarantee.

Good luck, and do feel free to contact me if you want to discuss this further.

Re: Voiding a Contract

I wish that I saw your auction!

The immediate answer to your question is, yes you can bring a pre-emptive lawsuit to seek to establish that you do not owe the buyer the item. You could bring a lawsuit for declaratory relief, stating that there is a dispute which needs a court to resolve it. You do not want to do this, however, as there is no real upside for you and your suit would almost invariable bring a cross-complaint against you for damages or seeking to require performance.

Your true defense lies in the doctrine of mistake. To put it simply, mistakes can get you out of a contract. Mistakenly listing the price of a $20,000 item as $2 looks like a mistake that anyone should recognize. Your problem lies in the nature of eBay. First, there are eBay's rules, which you agreed to abide by. They probably say that whatever you list at, that's the price. Because, Second, it is quite common to list valuable items for a low or minimal opening value to try and drum up bidding excitement.

It could easily be argued against you that you intended to put $2, anticipating a lot of bidding and just miscalculated. That is not the kind of mistake the law protects against.

So, you are in a quandry. It is time to negotiate. A lot depends on where you are, where the Buyer is, how aggressive the Buyer is, etc.

That's the best I can give you in these facts. Feel free to contact me for a more in-depth answer.