First off, please excuse how vague this post is going to be. It concerns a good friend of mine. He didn’t want me to write about this, and I want to respect that. If I put too much information in, people that know me (and/or my friend) will be able to connect the dots. Trust me in that the gist of the story is accurate, and my friend is as honest as they come, and he doesn’t embellish things. All that being said, I am furious about this, and disheartened, about “the system” and our society.
A few years ago, my friend had another party provide a service, under contract, and it was a pretty big purchase. The other party did not complete the work as expected, and my friend was very unhappy with the end result and the workmanship involved. He tried solving the problem through “regular means” – that is, working it out with the vendor. The vendor refused. My friend ultimately went after the person/company civilly. It went to a jury trial.
My friend’s work is connected with the hunting/fishing industry. He is an avid hunter as well. Based on the fact that the errors in the work were obvious, they thought they had a good case. Their evidence was extensive. Then the defense lawyers got to him. They brought up what he did for a living, in very disparaging terms. They made a big “to-do” about how many guns he owned. To make a long story short, the jury found for the other side. In a discussion with jury members after the trial, my friend’s attorney was told “We really felt sorry for Mr. XXXX – we just don’t like what he does for a living”. No bull. An appeal was filed for a new trial, and that was denied. Not only did he not have the original situation rectified, he was ordered to pay an unbelievable amount in the other sides’ legal expenses. Think $100K or better.
I stopped in to see my buddy the other day, and asked him how his appeals and stuff were going. He said “It’s all over. They emptied my accounts a few weeks ago. Checking, savings, investments. All I have left is my house, my truck, and my family. They still want me to pay several hundred dollars per month, for the next 15 years, and another $50K at the end. I’m still trying to negotiate that with them.”
Surprisingly, my friend was in pretty good spirits. I am sad for him, beyond words. I am angry at a system that allowed this to happen. I am in disbelief that people would put their personal beliefs (hunting and guns) over what is “right”, when it comes to a trial. I am glad that this man is my friend, though – that someone can stand tall after all this, is an inspiration.
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