QUESTION

I bought a website (i-watchtvshows.com) froma man that lives in Maine. Because of his negligence/procrastination the entire site and hosting......

Asked on Aug 15th, 2011 on Contracts - California
More details to this question:
was not transfered into my accounts when the site crashed and is now valueless. We signed digital contracts. I tried to get my money back through Paypal (the method I used to pay him) but Paypal''s response was that my product did not qualify for production protection because it was digital and not a ''concrete'' product. Like I say, Jeff Witt lives in Maine, while I live in California. I paid him $2500 for the site...enough to make me want to get my money back, but not enough to travel to Maine to sue him in court.....not even small claims court. Is there anything I can do???
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1 ANSWER

Estate Planning Attorney serving San Clemente, CA
1 Award
Mr. Widen,      I am sorry to hear of the problems you experienced in acquiring this website. Without reviewing more facts, it is impossible to opine as to the validity of any causes of action you may have against the seller. Further, without reviewing the contract, it is difficult to even advise you as to your remedies. First, I would assume you have written to the seller and advised him in detail why you believe he has breached the purchase agreement, and demanded return of the funds paid? If you have not, you need to do so before taking any further action. Provide the seller with a deadline for return of your funds. If he fails to refund you, or fails to contact you to discuss settlement of the claim, then your next step is going to be litigation of the claim. Unfortunately, the claim is small enough that it probably doesn't justify filing a full-blown Superior Court action - this is probably a small claims case. The next question is where do you sue him. You need to review the contract for two items - the first of which is a choice-of-law provision. You need to know if the dispute, by contract, is going to be governed by Maine or California law. If it is Maine law, you'll find it very difficult to file a lawsuit in California and ask a Small Claims Court Commissioner or Judge to interpret Maine law. You may also be required by contract to file in Maine. Without reviewing the contract, it is impossible to definitively answer a lot of questions attendant with your matter, so I suggest that you may wish to buy an hour or two of a local attorney's time to discuss this and determine how best to proceed. I wish you very good luck in recovering the money you have lost on this venture. David L. GibbsThe Gibbs Law Firm, APCSan Clemente, Californiawww.gibbslaw.com *Due to the limitations of the Lawyer.com Forums, The Gibbs Law Firm, APC's (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided is general and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence. As required by 11 U.S.C. §528, we must now disclose that, "We are a debt relief agency. We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code. Assistance we provide with respect to Debt Relief may involve bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code."
Answered on Aug 19th, 2011 at 12:33 PM

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