Legal Question in Business Law in New York

Re: Online auction

One can never be sure, but the chances of being sued by someone 3,000 miles away over a questionable $500 claim are very small.

As to whether the claimant could assert jurisdiction over you in a New York court, the first thing you should do is look at your eBay seller's agreement with eBay to see whether anything in it affects a buyer's right to claim jurisdiction in the buyer's home state. There probably isn't such a clause, but do look. Otherwise, the issue would be whether you have "substantial contacts" with New York, and that's a question of fact that may depend upon how many New York buyers you have, and so forth.

If you have no particular nexus to New York, its courts would probably not have jurisdiction.

Also, before any court has jurisdiction over you, you have to be served with process.

My feeling is that it's 99.9% likely the worst you'll endure is negative feedback, but I have to stop just short of predicting no suit will ever be filed over this. If one is filed, it will probably be in California small claims, while the New Yorker is on a California vacation or business trip on other matters. I've seen this happen, but it's very rare and takes a really neurotic plaintiff.

Re: Online auction

Yes ... anyone can sue for any reason...or no reason at all.

But ... wait for it to happen if it does ... (s)he probably has jurisdiction over you by legal mumbo-jumbo called long-arm jurisdiction, but clerks, when they see a Calif. address may balk.

My advice is to wait and see what happens.

Good Luck

Robert R. Groezinger

[email protected]