[Toastmaker]

And, of course, the dealership owner's offer to make things right (probably generous) will not suffice !! No, no ! The poor abused chap must have millions of dollars for his trouble !

This is a perfect example of why we desperately need tort law reform in this country. Our civil justice system has long been an attorney enrichment program devoid of any real association with the concept of "justice".

[andyt]

Toastmaker Toastmaker:

And, of course, the dealership owner's offer to make things right (probably generous) will not suffice !! No, no ! The poor abused chap must have millions of dollars for his trouble !

This is a perfect example of why we desperately need tort law reform in this country. Our civil justice system has long been an attorney enrichment program devoid of any real association with the concept of "justice".

What does the dealership making things right look like to you? That arrest will stay on his record. He'll be asked if he's ever been arrested by employers, police, etc. Many people conflate arrest with conviction. This is real damage to his reputation, much more so than the trouble of being in custody for 4 hours and having to post a bond.

That dealership should be charged with filing a false report.

[Hyack]

Stories merged

[Toastmaker]

His arrest record can be purged and likely will be at the request of the District Attorney now that all the facts are out and available to the court. There will be no criminal record following him at all.

Now, the management of the dealership that decided to place the charge to begin with needs to be purged - no question, but 2.2 MILLION DOLLARS ???

When did logical perspective slip out the door and abandon our societies ?

[Brenda]

Well, first off, it is the US. Second, you can sue for whatever you want. Doesn't mean you get anything.

[BartSimpson]

Toastmaker Toastmaker:

His arrest record can be purged and likely will be at the request of the District Attorney now that all the facts are out and available to the court. There will be no criminal record following him at all.

Now, the management of the dealership that decided to place the charge to begin with needs to be purged - no question, but 2.2 MILLION DOLLARS ???

When did logical perspective slip out the door and abandon our societies ?

The $2.2 million dollars is just the first place to start in the negotiating process. A car dealership should be able to understand this.

[Xort]

Toastmaker Toastmaker:

Now, the management of the dealership that decided to place the charge to begin with needs to be purged - no question, but 2.2 MILLION DOLLARS ???

When did logical perspective slip out the door and abandon our societies ?

How much money do you think being arrested for a crime you didn't commit due to the lies of someone else who was mostly trying to go back on a contract they didn't want to honour is worth?

I would ask for a full page newspaper add and 1 week of prime time radio adds explaining what they did wrong, and a 10 year open offer for me to go to the dealership and warn other customers about how they could be arrested if they buy from them.

I think they would rather give me the 2.2 million.

BartSimpson BartSimpson:

The $2.2 million dollars is just the first place to start in the negotiating process. A car dealership should be able to understand this.

Well played.

[BartSimpson]

The thing that makes this a real dick move on the part of the dealership is that they routinely screw people out of more money than a mere $5k and they laugh about it. Now someone benefits from their mistake and they get all hardcore about it until it goes national on them.

Hypocrites.

[2Cdo]

Just another reason why car salesmen and car dealers rank very low on the integrity scale.

[BartSimpson]

2Cdo 2Cdo:

Just another reason why car salesmen and car dealers rank very low on the integrity scale.

Lucky for them the politicians and the lawyers own the bottom of that scale.

[Toastmaker]

I agree that he deserves some form of compensation just for the arrest event caused by the - likely fired - dealership manager. The owner of the dealership has made some undisclosed offer to him and we don't know if it was reasonable. . . so, my only point is that it is a travesty of justice the way our civil legal system is used as a large payday for someone as soon as anyone makes a mistake.

This SOP is urged by attorneys who sell this process to victims. Is it the same in Canada? Does Canada have some type of legal ombudsman system like some European nations use to prevent unreasonable or frivolous lawsuits from clogging the courts?

[Brenda]

He brought the car back the next day, and was arrested 5 WEEKS later. Toasty, you are not serious, right?

[Xort]

Toastmaker Toastmaker:

so, my only point is that it is a travesty of justice the way our civil legal system is used as a large payday for someone as soon as anyone makes a mistake.

Well if this guy wasn't going forward with his legal action the dealership would walk away without any sort of punishment.

It's not a case of making a mistake, like dropping something, or switching paperwork around. They desided to call the police and say he stole his vehicle. That's not a mistake, that is an action with forethought and planning.
~
However he still needs to win his case. I don't think he is wrong to ask for a court to look at his situation and deside if they are wrong. It's not like he's is calling the police and saying the dealership tried to rob him with hired goons. Maybe the dealership should have filed their own claim in a court rather than trying to force the issue with a criminal complaint.

[Jughead]

ShepherdsDog ShepherdsDog:

he was arrested/detained, he wasn't charged. There is a bit of a difference.

True. However, when applying for a job, specifically a government related job, your arrest record will cause a lot of headaches. I beleive some if not most employers cannot inquire about your arrest record, they can only ask about convictions. However they can still hire an acency to get at your RAP record.

[Toastmaker]

Brenda Brenda:

He brought the car back the next day, and was arrested 5 WEEKS later. Toasty, you are not serious, right?

Brenda, it can easily take that long for a warrant to be issued and served, after the complainant (the dealership manager)decided to swear out the complaint before the court. He didn't just call the police, tell them his story and they rushed right over to lock this guy up.

This took place not far from me in the state of Virginia and I asked some people who know what really happened. The accused was picked up on an arrest warrant for theft by fraud. He was not actually jailed. He was taken before a commissioner (magistrate) where he had to wait, in an office setting, not a jail cell, where he was then released on his own recognizance about four hours later.

Not quite the shocking story the media would like us to believe, eh? Anyway, the charges were dropped by the district attorney and the Commonwealth of Virginia is expunging the arrest record.

The owner of the dealership is attempting to compensate him for this and the floor manager that swore out the warrant is being looked at for a possible charge of false reporting/abuse of process. A 2.2 million dollar lawsuit is just someone trying to take advantage of a situation as a cheap opportunist.

PS: Anybody going to tell me how this goes in Canada?