Legal Question in Consumer Law in North Carolina
Auction buyer wants refund of deposit on camper
I offered a 1960's Camper for sale on Ebay with a reserve of 6k ( I had a good description and after describing i stated sold ''as is'' and you may inspect it by appointment. If you bid with out inspecting inspection is considered waived)I recieved an email requsting to buy the camper for 10k I accepted after talking on phone and agreeing that refund would be non refundable and they offered a 2k deposit which i recieved. when they came to pick it up they said it was not in condition described, I belive it is and had many photos on auction. We agreed to settle and they signed a paper stating they would forfiet deposit in exchange for 800.00 in cash. (not notorised but witnessed by my wife. they left. I recieved an email that they want full refund or they will sue me in civil court. and state that I will have to pay travel costs from Chicago and their lawyers fees. They also state that they are going to file criminal fraud charges and they only signed paper to get the $800.00 (this was mutually agreed upon.) The camper in question was advertised as Original condition and they say that since there are some areas of minor damage that it is not original , it is over 35 years old and in good condition. Do I concern myself?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Auction buyer wants refund of deposit on camper
Your check for $800 to them, and their signature on the agreement in release is sufficient to insulate you from liability. You cannot be tried in Chicago since they traveled to NC to view the camper, the transaction took place in NC, and NC law would govern. I agree completely with Mr. Griffin's fine analysis. I write separately because you indicated the buyers are from Chicago, and that could be problematic for you. Chicago courts are not known for their fair application of the civil law.
Your buyers may decide to sue you in small claims court in Chicago without a lawyer, and when people do that, it is sometimes difficult to predict the outcome. A lawyer would know there was no jurisdiction. The clerk in the civil court may not.
They may succeed in suing you (that is, in getting the court to issue you a summons, etc.) but when they do, you should be able to file what is called a "special appearance" (which means you do not consent to jurisdiction) and ask the court to dismiss (1) because it has no jurisdiction and (2) because you have a complete defense to their claim.
Small claims court is NOT like regular court, and sometimes the rulings are NOT according to the law. So it might be worth your time, if you DO get sued, to hire an attorney in Chicago to appear and get the matter dismissed. That's not saying your will get sued, but it is saying that if that happens, you probably want someone in Chicago to help you.
Good luck.
Re: Auction buyer wants refund of deposit on camper
Since you allowed inspection-stating if bid w/out inspection, inspection opportunity is waived-they signed for $800 refund-I believe the full refund is waived, no matter the reason they signed for the $800. Forget about the travel costs. They will have to pay to come to NC-seek criminal charges through the DA in NC and try the matter in NC-IF the DA deems the case criminal, which I doubt he will if all is as you say. I wouldn't overly concern myself with this matter.
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