Being Threatened by Nike Lawyers PLEASE HELP

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needhelp2007

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I am being threatened by Nike lawyers "Holihan Law" , I dont know if this is real or not. They've asked me a million questions and now they said I owe them $500 for selling counterfeit Nike merchandise.

Anybody please help me with this. Are these people for real? If so, is there a way I can get out of this? I dont sell anything anymore, but if I did sell something fake, I really didnt know about it. This is crazy.

PLEASE HELP! Any legal info is greatly appreciated. They sent me some contract saying that I'll pay the money, etc.. but I wont sign it yet.

Thanks,
'NeedHelp2007'
 
Hi,

Im in the same situation as you. I just received an email from these people. Are they for real?

Please keep me updated with what happens...did you send them the 500?
 
This is not legal Advice!


Hey, now lets calm down here.

No.1 Where were you supposed to commit this crime?

No.2 What is the evidence?

No.3 What court of law gave this company the right to seek compensation in this manner?

No.4 On what authority do they act?

No.5 If I sent you a letter demanding money would you not question my authenticity?

Go back to the drawing board gang and think about all this as a fool and his money are easily departed!

Good luck

Mark
 
Well in my sitiation, i had a website that sold shoes. I was not aware they where illegal to sell. But supposedly they are fake nikes.

Nikes lawyers sent a letter to me statiting that i have 5 days to respond to them. For evidence they sent screen shots of my website displaying the shoes for sale.

they demand that i take the website offline, send them details of my suppliers, and details of all my transactions and profit earned so that they can calculate losses and damages.

They say if i dont reply within 5 days they will take further action. Im sure the letter is authentic and NOT a fake as many other sneaker sites selling the same shoes have got the same letter. Should i contact an attorney or just call them myself?
 
This is not legal Advice!


If you had a site and were un aware the supposed branded shoes you sold were fake, then you can write to the brand and give them details of your supplier and state that you sold the goods in good faith which is the same way you received them!
Therefore:

No.1 As far as you was aware and led to believe the shoes you sold were genuine and still are.

No.2 If they are still not happy they should contact your supplier for the details that they require.

All in all if I by a Ford and it looks like, drives like and has a Ford badge. I will believe it is a Ford.

Take Care

Mark.
 
i contacted them and they want all ind of stuff and say i will have to pay damages to nike same like the guy above...should i pay? or just refuse? i made only like 1000 bucks off this whole business...so its ended up being more trouble then its worth..
 
This is not legal Advice!


Hey,

Like i said before, you are not doing anything wrong whilst you are in dispute because you are not refusing to pay compensation and during this period you will not dismiss that you may have to pay. All you need to know are the facts!

No.1 Where were you supposed to commit this crime?

No.2 What is the evidence?

No.3 What court of law gave this company the right to seek compensation in this manner?

No.4 On what authority do they act?

No.5 If I sent you a letter demanding money would you not question my authenticity?


If you do not ask the above questions then send me the money!!!!

After you have had the reply then you can say were un aware the supposed branded shoes you sold were fake, then you can write to the brand and give them details of your supplier and state that you sold the goods in good faith which is the same way you received them!
Therefore:

No.1 As far as you was aware and led to believe the shoes you sold were genuine and still are.

No.2 If they are still not happy they should contact your supplier for the details that they require.

There is no more you require on this subject, if they do not answer your questions then i would let them do there best to get the money out of you because if the above is not answered then a judge would find it hard to process there claim. Remember this i do not know the full facts of your case and the above comments are only my opinion and the way i would proceed in a matter of this nature.


Take Care

Mark.
 
Hey Everybody, Thanks for the replies!

They sent me agreement papers to sign, saying that Nike has given them permission to settle this for $500 for damages & lawyer fees.
But the bad thing about all this is that I honestly did not know they were fakes, and I'm still not sure these people are for real, because my supplier assures me that the shoes are not fakes, he even gave me an authenticity paper.

What I need to know right now is, what exactly can I write to them to get them off my back for a while or for good. Is there a law that protects good faith sellers who did not know they were not authentic.

The law firm is Holihan Law , and I googled it and couldn't find any website or much information.
This is just crazy, but they scare you by threatening to take me to court.
Like celphoner, they asked me loads of questions.. did I do wrong by answering?

What can I do right away as my first payment was due 5 days ago.

Thanks,
NeedHelp2007
 
Hi Again,


There is not a single person in the world that can take money from you with "suspicion!" Ask them to present you with the case file and evidence.

Ask them: Under which authority do they act!
There is no authority of any shoe brand I no? I am led to believe that the law is conducted by courts.

Tell them to go though the proper procedure and take you to court and stop asking you for money otherwise you will file for harassment.
You have explained you have a piece of paper from your supplier of authenticity and you are sure in your mind that you are not dealing in fakes.

You are not required by law to have any dealings with there company and if they would like to contact you further then to go through you lawyer.
Make this the last correspondence with this company.


Take care

Mark.
 
I got Served

I hope this post bumps the thread back to the top. I actually got served by Nike. I, as well as many others, who run websites selling the replicas got served just after Thanksgiving of 07. The firm that is suing is out of California. I live in the midwest. I contacted a local attorney, he had had some conversations with the attorney representing Nike. He laid the ground work to come to a settlement with Nike but could not officially represent me since he is not licensed in CA. He is someone I have known for some time so he didn't charge me for this. I have had some contact with the attorneys of Nike on a pro se basis. But, this scares the crap out of me. I have given all of the information they have requested except the financials. I have however, in the past, given them a profit number. Just not the official accounting. I have nothing. It would be kind of useless to sue me for money. I have provided them proof that I really have no assets. My question is this: Should I give up the financials to get them off me and put it to rest? Or, is this just flaming the fire and likely to make it worse? So far, the Nike attorneys have actually been pretty ok with me.

I am one of those guys who knew the items were replica but it was so stated on the website. I had reason to believe that if proper disclosure was in place it was NOT a problem. I have now come to find out that regardless of what is disclosed, it is still a problem. I really hope someone who has a clue about civil matters can answer this question SOON. They tell me that I am in technical default right now for not answering their complaint. I did answer the complaint in plenty of time. I just have not given all the information for their settlement requests. So, I really need an answer fast. A judgement against me would not be good considering my "regular" occupation. Thanks everyone!
 
If you got served why in god's name are you talking to them?

Have you filed a counter claim?

What state are you in?

What is your connection with CA? This is very criticle. If you have responded, they now have jurisdiction over you.

Challange jursidiction, motion to dismiss. Any other response, and you are in the jurisdiction of the CA courts. (you can claim diversity of citizen ship as you don't seem to live in CA)

Did you drive into CA and conduct business?
 
I am in Illinois. I have not filed a counter claim. I, personally have no connection with California except that the site sold to all areas of the States, Calif. included. I, personally, have never conducted business in Calif. The local attorney, I believe challenged jurisdiction. Obviously, that must not have worked or he would have let me know. I have provided an answer to the complaint on Jan. 30, 2008. I gave them my supply chain contacts, method of payment and an accurate profit number. I have documentation to substantiate the numbers. I have plead "poor boy," and have given sufficient documentation to substantiate that, financially, they are trying to get blood from a turnip.

So, did I completly mess up by trying to resolve the matter? As with anyone involved in this kind of thing you just want it OVER. Should I respond with more? They claim that if I give up all the info, they will have a settlement agreement in a week or so. They claim I am in technical default and if I do not respond with the sales and expenses they will proceed to seek judgement and have left it open for any further dealings in the future. The site has long ago been shut down. It was shut down a few days after the service. So, what does one do? I really don't have the financial resources to pay an attorney, particularly one in California. I feel completely vulnerable and am certainly uneducated in these matters. Lesson learned about doing due diligence before starting any kind of business. Thanks in advance for the help.
 
I don't know man. There are two challanges to jurisdiction 1-personal, 2-subject matter. What one did the lawyer go after?

If you think a settlement would be best, then do that. As it stands, they got you by the short hairs, and if you don't go to court, they will get the default.

You may want to read up and learn how to sue your lawyer for malpractice. I just don't see how CA could claim jursidiction unless that lawyer screwed it up for you. I'll put money on the lawyer.
 
this same law firm holihan...has contacted me regarding some thing of this nature...i talked to some lady..i had no idea shoes were fake..met supplier off alibaba and have barely dealt with him..shoes are no different looking from authentic, comes with correct box and logo and to me i still believe it is authentic, but hey maybe its just me..any other person without knowledge would think the same...

here is the ordeal, they send letters to me everytime at the beginning of the month say btw the 7th and 10th...i talked to some lady and she told me i was liable for damages and all i sold was one pair of shoe from the site from some person who demanded address for money order...from the transaction i made $19...i have told her this and now they are requesting me to pay damages of $6000 and i need to reply in 7days, this just doesnt make any sense to me...i dont have a lawyer as of yet, maybe i need to go and look for one right now...the site was built by an indian company and site was still in their possession because i did not pay completely for the website so no search engine work was done to the site, so i was kinda suspicious when the customer kept asking me that he will like to pay with a money order...i was like no one knows this site but me and the programmer, so how come this customer found out about it...


so basically i need some help...they have told me that i need to pay $6000 and reply within 7days if i agree so they send appropriate paperwork...if i dont respond, they will file lawsuit and seek preliminary and permanent injunction (like i know what that means) against me and damages as provided by lanham act and florida common law...i am located in alabama...i am a student and dont even have no $6000..even if i did have it, the last thing i will do is give it to these ppl when this will not a wilful act and i still think i am in the right...i didnt do any wrong in my belief...any help here pls?
 
If you only received a letter then I wouldn't be too concerned. My research indicates they are a legit firm. Solution=don't sell anymore. Injunction simply means to put an end to an activity. In other words, quit selling now and do not sell in the future.
 
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thats the point...the site has even been shut down...i have told her this...do you know if they will file a lawsuit against me and what repercussions i may suffer? the lady apparently lied over the phone because she said they can seel anywhere from 3k-100k and she will talk to her boss to see if he can lower it down since i only sold 1pair...right there and then, she lost credibility with me because law firm will try to get as much as possible from you...also she talked like she wasnt too professional to me, like telling me my boss is michael and you can go on google or yahoo or whatever and do a research on him and read about him and i am his paralegal, but she was rather talking with an intimidating voice...

if i dont respond to them within 7days like requested, what do you think is next? what do i do now from my own side?
 
Bigadd

I got the same thing from Holihan. Told me I owed $3,000 dollars. I contacted Nike and told them my situation that I was unware that my supplier was unethical. I told Nike the website etc. I spoke to someone in consumer affairs. They told me that I sounds like a scam and the they dont even have any legal proceedings or offices in Florida for things like that. The lady took my number and one of the main guys will be getting back in touch with me and said it just doesnt sound right and said not to sign anything and tell them that I talked to Nike. I gave the Holihan's phone number and address and they seemed really cool and not crazy like the Holihan lady. I would say it is all a big scam and the lady told me that the website I got them from is unauthorized meaning that I can purchase from them. So if I was anyone. I will be contacting them in the morning also to let them know that the lady also said that I could in turn file a malpractice suit against them because that is not how things are handled at Nike and I have not even been to court or anything like that. Like the guy said, if it sounds like a scam it is a scam. I also asked the lady at Holihan to send me some info from Nike saying the wanted $3000 and how will I know that they received my payment if I did pay. She said we dont normally do that but we could send you a receipt. The lady at Nike said that is very fishy to her. So do not sign anything. Call nike and report Holihan.
 
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oh sounds good....i wont even reply them...i will just reject any more fedex mails they send out to me and tell the postman they have the wrong person...the lady sounds so rude and unprofessional, she is just too pushy and it made me feel the whole thing was fishy...and why in the world will you demand damages for $6000 from me when i told you i only sold one item and made $29 from it and also offered customer a refund which i got no response after you sent me a letter...i see other ppl on here they have asked for $500 and now mine is 6k??? real fishy...
 
royalguy said:
oh sounds good....i wont even reply them...i will just reject any more fedex mails they send out to me and tell the postman they have the wrong person...the lady sounds so rude and unprofessional, she is just too pushy and it made me feel the whole thing was fishy...and why in the world will you demand damages for $6000 from me when i told you i only sold one item and made $29 from it and also offered customer a refund which i got no response after you sent me a letter...i see other ppl on here they have asked for $500 and now mine is 6k??? real fishy...
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Pls. Call Nike consumer affairs and tell them your situation. I think this is a scam. I called back the next day to tell Cindy Baker I talked to Nike and she was not in. I emailed Cindy Baker a copy of the email I sent nike so she and I and Nike could have a copy. I talked to some guy who said his name was Drew Wise who said he didnt know about my case. Funny. Anyone who got this letter previously could you pls respond to me and tell me what was the outcome of your situation because I would love to hear it!!!!!
 
I had a similar problem in January. I was suspended by Ebay for allegedly selling counterfeit Reebok jerseys. I also purchased my jerseys from a B2B site under the impression that they were original.
I was contacted by an attorneys office claiming to represent Reebok via email asking for $750.00, the name of my supplier, and all of my unsold inventory.
I contacted the attorney via email, and explained my situation. They were only interested in recieving the cash and unsold items, they said if I would comply with these demands all charges would be forgotten. They seemed to have no interest at all in any information about my supplier. I was very suspiscious and never acted on any of their demands, and it has been over a month since I recieved any contact from this firm.
I don't know for sure if this is a scam, but the only information that I can give you is to cease and desist from selling your items if you have'nt done so already. Also, I would not send any money to anyone.
 
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