posted
....against the guy who stole my pool cue last year. He pled guilty, and then contested teh $1200 price tag on my cue.
Not smart, but not because my cue was worth the $1200...it wasn't. I thought it was, and payed close to that, but the guy who made it said that if I bought it direct from him it would be about $850, plus $75 shipping handling, and insurance.
It will also take about 6 months to make.
But since the idiot refuted the charges, I decided to make a list of costs and submit them as well.
He owes me $450 in pay for my time, figured by my pay rate at work, with a months pay stubs to back it up; for the $47 book I bought to prove that Dave Tice is a world-class cue maker (he is); mileage for two trips to Orlando, including tolls and parking; and $925 for the cue and shipping.
He also threatened a cop, and me, and caused me to be without my cue for over a year all told. The actual costs all together, without punitive value, is about $1500.
I am going to ask the court to double it.
He should have taken me up on my $2000 offer to settle, payed up front.
quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: Maybe she just doesn't have the balls for it.
When I first read this one I felt it was a little crude for a family forum, but I've changed my mind.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
| IP: Logged |
And it's a little too late for y'all to break in to the pun business. No, scratch that - it's just a little too painful.
Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
All right, all right -- let's stop the puns. This is serious pool business.
Good luck, Kwea. We expect a full report when you've run the game to its inevitable conclusion and sunk the black-hearted thief. *grin*
Posts: 5609 | Registered: Jan 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
He posted it on sake. The thief has to pay restitution of $30 a month for 32 months. Which, if you were expecting a lump sum payout, I can see why that would be pretty disappointing.
But are you getting your cue back? I know it's been held in evidence for a year. . . if you needed to buy a new cue and were getting restitution over the course of 32 months, that would totally suck. But if you're getting the cue back plus the money as punitive damages. . . well, it seems light for felony theft, but not awful. You certainly deserve your cue back and some compensation for the time you put into getting the crime prosecuted. I'm not sure why you'd feel you deserve twice the value of the cue and all your expenses.
Again, if you're not getting your cue back and will have to order a new one and wait 6 months for it to be made, this does completely suck.
Posts: 7954 | Registered: Mar 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
There are no punitive damage payments to victims in criminal cases. There are Punitive damage to victims in civil tort claims cases. In criminal cases the victim is only entitled to restitution. It also doen't matter what she payed for the cue, how much time she's had to spend to help prosecute the case, or the emotional cost of the crime. If the stolen property can be replaced for a lesser amount tahn originally payed for, or replaced with the actual undamamged property, that is what she gets. Replacing the cue would put her back at her original position before the crime, i.e, make her whole. In determining the amount of time for the payments, the court looked at the perps ability to pay.
If the guy has a job and is placed on probation Kwea should consider herself lucky because she'll eventually get the money back to get a new cue. Kwea should not want larger up front payments because if he fails to make the payments, he'd get violated tossed in the clink and probably lose his job, then she'd have to wait even longer for the cash. Also, she could find hope in that some perps without much of a prior record, try to pony up the restitution faster and earlier and complete the conditions of probations, e.g., community service hours, as a way to try to get off probation earlier.
Posts: 407 | Registered: Mar 2006
| IP: Logged |
I wasn't expecting a lump sum, not at this point. But how the hell is $30 a month restitution at all? By the time it is payed off and I can buy another cue, the cue will have increased in price again!
I am out all of my money, my cue (it was never recovered), my time and my effort. I missed 3 days work, had to use two personal days, lost money assembling evidence....lost the use of my cue for almost a year (so far)...and I get $30 frickin dollars a month?
They told me they needed my approval to give him a plea bargain, and I told them no....so they gave him one anyway. 14 months probation, with adjudication withheld!?!?!?
I should have lost my cool and gone after him myself. After all, if I got caught it would have taken a year to go to court, and I can afford $30 restitution a month myself.
They only people I saw who were happy about this were the damn lawyers...and if I had been making $60 G a year screwing innocent people over I probably would consider this just myself.
A can of mace, a taser, and a ball pean hammer would have been more justice than this, and more satisfying.
Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
I was asking for $1,486. $1000 of it was for the cue, shipping and handling, and insurance on it.
I payed $1200 retail for it.
The rest was for time lost at work, replacing my personal/vacation days (3), travel time and expenses x3 trips to court, and reimbursment for the $50 book I bought to prove the list price of my cue.
I was so fair that I charged the same amount for mileage that my company charges, and had reciepts for all my tolls and parking. I didn't charge anything extra, and did not include any compensation for the trouble, the loss of the cue for the past year, or for the death threats and threats of violence he issued against me and the police officer involved.
I figured it out down to the 1/10th of a mile, I was so fair.
And the lawyers wondered why so few victims press charges. Probably because they can't afford their brand of "justice".
posted
I'm sorry man, that does sound pretty sucky. If it makes you feel any better, if I were the judge typer thinger, I would've given you three thousand dollars. Posts: 2827 | Registered: Jul 2005
| IP: Logged |
I could have settled for more than I eventually got before the actual court date, and turned it down. I don't care about the money, I just want a new cue to replace the one that was stolen, and to have the jackass pay for his crime.
Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
I'm sorry for your loss, sometimes doing the right leaves you worse off than the quick and easy solution, but take solace in the fact you're inaction made society just slightly better.
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Evil]](graemlins/evil.gif)
![[Mad]](mad.gif)
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
