Can I be sued ?

[lostinlaw]

Someone is trying to sue me, I haven't got the paperwork yet but they have come by, for a boat I agreed to buy at a price that was never settled because it needed too much work. He said I can pay what I want when I can. It has been 2 years and we still do not have the boat ready for the water. It is over 30 years old with no blue book value. The motor may be worth around $300. The trailer broke in half so we replaced it at cost.
Now the owner says he wants a lot of money more than it is worth since it has no value. We believe, he likes the way it is turning out and wants it back for himself or to sell now that it looks good and we have had it overhauled.
We based our work, matieral, time, money on his promise, there was no contract, that we may pay him when we could and that we would settle on a fair price along the way. We have been haggleing over the price for the past two years. We finally got close to an agreeable price but...
Now he wants to sue. What should I do?
How do I prepare?
Can I have a judgement placed against me without me knowing and without a contract for the property?

 

[lostinlaw]

Also, this person live in another county. He knows the judge in his county because there is only like 100 people in that town. I don't want to get ripped just because he knows the judge. I just don't sound legit.

 

[lostinlaw]

We were served and it totals just over $2400 for boat, motor, trailer accessories, intrest and court cost.
That't all it says.
I don't know where he got the figure considering the value of everything, and the intrest. What is that. He never mentioned intrest before now it is in there.
Can he just pull numbers out of a hat like that? I don't know how to defend myself.

 

[lostinlaw]

Hello, does anyone want to take this one?

 

[leigh6000]

I am not a lawyer, but I hate to see someone out there fumbling for an answer and no help coming......


Do you have any photos of this boat before you did work on it? If you don't have any photos he can say he sold it to you as it is........

Do you have receipts for the things you purchased to put into the boat? If you could show the court that you have done this this and this to make the boat worth what he is asking that would help your case.

Do you have a title for the trailer? If so, I don't see how he could take the trailer. Any chance you still have the busted one that came with the boat?

Even if there is no blue book value for the boat, do some research. Maybe you can find several examples of this boat for sale. If you go into court with a couple of ads for the same boat at a different price, then maybe that would help to determine the worth of the boat. Then you figure out how much you have in supplies and labor to put the boat in the condition it is in. I am sure you could counter sue for the money you have invested as long as you can prove you paid.......cancelled checks, store receipts, etc....
Get some estimates from places that repair boats and find out what they charge per hour and then figure out how many hours you have invested in this boat. I would get several estimates and then average them out to find your "salary" for repairing the boat. He may find that he owes you for the amount of work you put into "his" boat.

There are always two sides to every story. You just need to worry about yourself. You may lose the boat, but there is no reason you should not be reimbursed for what you put into it. Just cover your arse......

 

[invisivenus]

im not an attorney but i am studding law and from what i read (and from watching the peoples court daily) you had no contract, you never agreed on the price, and intrest was never apart of the agreement i would assume unless he actually has an attorney advising him on the matter i wouldnt see why he would be able to be successfull, especially if he cant provide reciepts saying how much it was to fix and the only agreement was yall would agree upon a price along the way.

 

[lostinlaw]

Thanks, it has been almost two years since we first picked up the boat. I cannot find any type of receipts for the reason that we never thought to save them. It is not like we had a contract, like with a house, that we could right off at the end of the month for the material we put into it. As for the new trailer it is licenced to us. I can't find a reciept for that either but there is a bluebook value of $1400. We do have plenty of pictures of what it looked like before we began to work on it as well. I suppose if I go back to the stores where I got all the materials I could check the prices of those items and just make a list. It is obviouse that the work has been done through the pictures.
Thanks for the ideas.
We have 45 days until our court date. Until then I will try to stop calm down and figure things out.

 

[jbassir]

What does the contract say?

It comes down to what the contract says. No contract in writing, then verbal or implied. Offer to settle in cash or give the boat back. If you want to fight, well then have a good story about the amout you agreed to pay for the boat, show the amout paid. He has to prove you agreed to pay an amout...you say I agreed to pay X dollars--that is it.