Dave vs Goliath…???

Well, I’m starting to feel some significant pressure to drop my claim against the folks we bought the house from… I think we have a real case that is valid and has merit, but I’m beginning to feel overwhelmed with the potential litigation and possible costs if we loose…. And wondering, is it worth it…

If you’re one of the limited few friends/family who’ve been following this, you’ll remember our horror to discover the status of the inner liner of our chimney, and much worst, what could have happened if we had used the WoodStove, as it was….

See these links for more details..
http://robsbongwater.blogspot.com/2007/08/anyone-know-good-lawyer.html

http://robsbongwater.blogspot.com/2007/08/how-much-is-enough-and-at-what-cost.html

Anyway… flash forward…

we tried to reach an agreement with the previous owners, that was, in my opinion, more then reasonable..

In short, we believe that
-the chimney had been damaged after our inspection but prior to taking ownership

And as a result, while we also had to repair the exterior of the roof/chimney… that much we mutually knew had to be done… So I wasn’t going after that….I just wanted them to go good for the interior liner we had to replace..

I really do believe that at the time of purchase, it was implied that the inner workings of the thing were in working order… and at the very least, not a deathtrap…

Anyway, given the status of the liner once we got the roofers up there to look, while Im no lawyer, I think that represents a “Material change in condition” that wasn’t disclosed.. and we simply wanted the previous owners to pay for the portion of the chimney repair (2,052 to be exact) its not a lot of money, but, hey.. IT IS a lot of money to us… sigh…

So I then emailed and left them (the previous owners) messages.. and got no reply.. and as time dragged on, I began to feel that they were ignoring me and I do have to admit, that the tone of my emails deteriorate from the polite given benefit of the doubt “By they way, did you know about this and what are your thoughts on it” to, well, something a little more hostile and accusational .. …. Hey, Im only human… But Anyway… I then get a very “Forceful” email from their Lawyer…. Leaving me with two options... Shut up, or sue…

So I pay the fee’s, and filed my claim..

Feeling somewhat "punitive" at that point, In my claim, I claimed for all of our costs… Carpet cleaning , blind replacement, all things that were sincerely affected by the creosote… All stuff we went through, but up to that point I was willing to overlook if we could just settle….. All I wanted was the liner costs… I was ok paying for the rest of that stuff as we would have replaced it all eventually anyway... (it just sucked to have to do it all sooner then later) Anyway, I file the claim, but not one to give up hope.. I also emailed the previous owner one last time, and again offered to settle for the liner replacement cost… there was some back and forth and a glimmer of hope when they even got all “Zen” quoting some budist stuff and referring to stuff like his “Moral compass” But long story short… he said no go, see you in court…

Then today, I get another “Strong” email from his lawyer, stating they are filing a defense (I’ve read it, and think I can disprove most of it but Im on my own, and they have one of the city’s best lawyers… ) And if that were not enuf, the Scarier part is that they are counter claiming for their costs if we go to court I didn’t even know they could do that? Talk about a disincentive to the little guy??? …

Anyway… And wonder what this guys “moral compass” would tell him if, instead of emails from me, it was coming from the executors of our estate because we used the darn woodstove and perished in the fire????” I dunno…
but thank god thats not the case...

So Im at a crossroads...

I fired out an email to a trusted friend who has a friend whos a lawyer to ask “if I stand a chance here” and more importantly, if I might really be liable for their travel cost on the odd chance that I loose… And if that prognosis is not good, then I might just drop the whole thing…

Ethically, I really do believe I’m in the right here… But I’m no lawyer, and won’t pretend to even have a clue as to how that might work once it gets to court…

But weather I roll the dice or note, I do take comfort, however, in the belief that there is “Karma” out there, and that someday, someway, this might come full circle.

(that, or maybe I’ve seen one to many My Name is Earl Episodes)

In the meantime, At least I can’t say I didn’t try….