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Negative eBay Feedback Leads to $15,000 Lawsuit
Steadman won an auction for a time clock from Elliot Miller, a lawyer from the Miami Beach area. Miller was offering what he described as a "sturdy time clock with all the fixings" that had been tested and confirmed to print on employee time cards. But as Steadman told Florida Today, the item that arrived did not match the description on eBay. The clock in question was actually pieces of three different models that didn't fit together, was not capable of being mounted on a wall and the printer didn't work. Even the key included didn't fit in the clock's lock.
According to Steadman, when he initially contacted Miller about his problems the seller's response was to encourage him to try and dump the clock on another unsuspecting buyer. Steadman had to resort to filing a formal complaint through PayPal to get his money back. Understandably he then left a negative comment on Miller's feedback page that read: "Bad seller; he has the ethics of a used car salesman."
Miller's response was to file a defamation suit that required Steadman to borrow $7,000 from a second mortgage to pay for legal fees, but those funds have since run out and his lawyer has quit. If Steadman's story is true, Miller deserves the negative comment left on his page and more. Here's hoping someone steps up to defend Steadman against what sounds like an eBay bully. [From: Florida Today]
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Comments
7
Subscribe to commentsMadMikeApr 12th 2010 7:03PM
A .40 pistol placed at the base of Mr. Millers' skull should provide adequate leverage.
However, a more legal reproach would be to file a complaint with the Florida State Bar Association. While according to the court of Common Pleas, you can sue anyone for anything, the Bar Association has set limits on frivolous lawsuits.
I would counter-sue because if Mr. Miller did, in fact, misrepresent an item for sale (and there is evidence), Mr. Steadman would be able to collect court fees and then some from Mr. Miller when he eventually loses.
As far as a lawyer eating $7,000 on a $15,000 lawsuit? I'd report that lawyer also. My lawyer would charge me a $1,500 flat rate retainer + 30% of the counter suit winnings.
mikemaj82Apr 12th 2010 8:08PM
the guy deserves it for leaving such a childish comment. These are lawyers and business owners? wow
MadMikeApr 12th 2010 8:36PM
Are you serious? Did you even read the article?
#1.) The item was falsely advertised
#2.) The item was broken
#3.) The seller refused to refund the money
#4.) The seller told the buyer to "offload the item on another unsuspecting person" which the seller did yet another time which is evident from the sellers Ebay feedback.
#5.) Paypal saw fit to charge the seller and refund the money to the Buyer
If anything the buyers comment is dead on. Sure the whole thing is a sack of rotten potatoes. People should be more mature and stupid squabbles over a $40 antique time clock seem frivolous. However this is all the doing of Elliot Miller. Mike Steadman wanted his money back and left an honest opinion on Ebay about the transaction. After that he dropped it. It was Mr. Miller who had to be on his high horse and use the judicial system to attack Mr. Steadman.
RudyApr 13th 2010 10:28AM
What I would do is make 2 calls to the ethics board. I would report Mr. Miller for the suit and then I would also report Mr. Steadman's lawyer for what seems to be excessive billing pratice, and to also look in to see if the 2 lawyers are working together to get money from Mr. Steadman. All in all this is really a very bad reflection on our legal system and the abuse that can be done to a person for such foolishness.
kApr 20th 2010 2:20PM
Yes he did deserve the FB, but negative FB doesn't solve anything, meaning the buyer only gets revenge, not resolution from it. If I were the buyer I would have just agreed to remove the negative FB rating and gotten on with my life. I'm sure he was given the option to. Maybe Steadman was too high on HIS horses to back down at that point. Which in this case, I have no sympathy for him. I'm sure he'd gotten his money back via paypal, making his loss equal nothing, then Miller is stuck with that negative forever. I don't blame him for suing. Perhaps even just for dignity's sake. Ebay/paypal give seller NO control over their business. Miller was probably trying to get some of that back. Its a sad, desperate situation they've created for their sellers/buyers.
amniphJun 30th 2010 12:21PM
You are ridiculous. The feedback system is there for a reason. If Miller is a deadbeat seller, it was Steadman's right to leave the appropriate feedback in order to forewarn other buyers.
Perhaps you should have been the patsy - oops, I mean buyer - that purchased the clock from Miller, that way he could bully you into removing the feedback, then prey on and cheat other unsuspecting buyers. Or perhaps he had already done so, so any previous negative feedback wouldn't be there for you to make a fair judgement as to whether to buy from him or not.
The ethics and morals of some of you people amaze me. If the presiding judge has any at all, he'll rule in Steadman's favor and force Miller to pay for all of Steadman's legal fees on top of his own.
Margaret ThayerJun 24th 2010 11:00AM
There are 2 sides to every story and given that I just received an unwarranted negative feedback from an impossible nightmare of a customer, if I had the option to sue for slander, I would do so as well. Several years ago, in a knee jerk reaction to customer complaints, Ebay removed the right for Sellers to leave feedback. While there have been some bad sellers throughout the years, there are certainly plenty of bad Buyers out there as well. People shop on Ebay thinking that it is like Macy's or Bloomingdales, when in fact it is supposed to be an Auction site. The big problem is that Ebay sides 100% with the Buyer, leaving the seller exposed and making it so that it's not worth the hassle. I've been doing this for 10 years with 100% positive feedback (till now) and until the company figures it out, I think thier growth is done (at least I hope so!)