Best Buy Loses Laptop: Owner Sues... for $54 Million
http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/72016
Don\'t dismiss Raelyn Campbell as a crackpot. Not yet. Listen to her story, and then decide if she\'s doing the right thing by asking Best Buy to compensate her to the tune of $54 million for a laptop that went missing when she took it in to Best Buy for repair under the store\'s own extended warranty.
Like many people, Campbell bought an extended warranty for her laptop when she bought it from Best Buy, and she took advantage of that when the power button broke off after a year. Best Buy accepted the machine for repair and said it would be ready in two to six weeks. But six weeks passed and the computer wasn\'t ready. After three months of ruthlessly hounding the company, Best Buy finally admitted it couldn\'t find the machine.
Ultimately, Best Buy offered to pay her $900 for losing the machine... as a gift card. She countered that it had originally cost over $1,100, not to mention all her data that was now gone for good. She demanded $2,100, and Best Buy simply ignored her.
At this point, Campbell was made aware that all her personal data on the machine could lead to a major identity theft issue, though Best Buy never filed their legally required notice that she was at risk. That was the last straw, and she filed suit for $54 million, representing herself. Best Buy has since upped its offer to a total of $4,100 if she withdraws the case. She says she doesn\'t expect to win, but wants to go to court anyway to force Best Buy to explain how her laptop was lost.
I have to agree that $54 million seems wildly optimistic, but it\'s amazing to hear how smug Best Buy has been throughout this process. Lowball, "go-away" offers that don\'t even value property properly, much less the value of the data inside it, are frankly embarrassing, and good for Campbell for making an issue out of it... even if she doesn\'t ultimately prevail.
yeah, no. i don\'t think people (of sue-happy america) should be rewarded for being stupid **** and not backing up their important data. that\'s not best buy\'s fault.
the only part i disagree with here is offering her the money as a gift card. it also makes no mention of how old the computer is, but like cars, computers depreciate in value. chances are, her $1100 computer isn\'t worth $1100 anymore.
Like many people, Campbell bought an extended warranty for her laptop when she bought it from Best Buy, and she took advantage of that when the power button broke off after a year.
Wisconsin man guilty of dead deer sex
February 20, 2008
FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS
WAUSAU, Wis. ? A state appeals court Wednesday upheld a Superior?s man conviction for having sex with a dead deer.
The 3rd District Court of Appeals rejected Bryan Hathaway?s argument that the charge should be dismissed because the law against committing an act of sexual gratification with animals does not apply if they are dead.
??He rather convincingly contends that animal means a living creature,?? Judge Gregory Peterson wrote. ??However, Peterson pled no contest to the charge. A plea of guilty or no contest waives all nonjurisdictional defects and defenses.??
Hathaway, 21, pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor a year ago and was sentenced to probation that required him to be evaluated as a sex offender.
In January, Douglas County Circuit Court Judge Michael Lucci sentenced him to nine months in jail for probation violations that included using alcohol and marijuana and having unapproved contact with a minor child.
Hathaway told investigators that he saw a dead deer in a ditch near Superior in fall 2006 as he rode a bicycle by it. He then dragged it into the woods and had sex with it.
??When I was done, I was upset with myself,?? Hathaway said in a statement to police. ??I know having sex with animals is wrong. But I can?t help myself and I need help.??
The appeals court ruled Wednesday that police properly obtained the incriminating statement from Hathaway, rejecting the claim that his constitutional rights were violated.
Hathaway was questioned because he was on probation and had returned to a transitional living program in Superior covered in hair and blood with a knife in his pocket, court records said.
Hathaway was found guilty in April 2005 of felony mistreatment of an animal after he killed a horse with the intention of having sex with it. He was sentenced to 18 months in jail and two years of extended supervision on that charge as well as six years of probation for taking and driving a vehicle without the owner?s consent.
Hathaway had just been released from prison for the killing the horse when the deer incident happened, court records said. Hathaway?s attorney, Jefren Olsen, did not immediately return a telephone message Wednesday.
thats one of the best stories ive heard in this thread
Scary socialite: Jocelyn Wildenstein looks scarier than ever as she leaves a Hollywood restaurant last night after dining with a male companion
Changing faces: Jocelyn today and at various stages of surgery going back to the 70s when she first went under the knife fearing her husband would leave her.is it just me or does she look a little like
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