English Deutsch Français Italiano Español Português 繁體中文 Bahasa Indonesia Tiếng Việt ภาษาไทย
All categories

My brother-in-law sent a man $9,500.00 to hold a oil drilling machine that was advertized on the internet with a picture for $95,000.00.When he flew to Iowa 2 days later, to see the machine,he decided it was not worth the price and not in very good condition.Now the man will not give him his money back.What is the law regarding this?

2007-01-27 12:18:11 · 6 answers · asked by bominireal123 1 in Politics & Government Law & Ethics

6 answers

Your brother-in-law suffered a detriment with no benefit. The other party would be entitled to a portion of the deposit for any costs he would incur as a result of his reliance on your brother for holding the oil drilling machine. Your brother-in-law has a right to inspect goods and reject them under the Uniform Commercial Code, which Iowa has adopted. Your brother-in-law may sue the advertizer in Iowa court and will most likely win. His first step is to contact the Iowa attorney general's office consumer protection division. He can do this over the internet. They will contact him shortly.

If the money was sent by check, it is still possible to do a stop payment. If it was wired, then this is more difficult. Pressure from both the home state and Iowa can convince the advertizer's bank to put a freeze on the funds.

2007-01-27 12:33:28 · answer #1 · answered by Discipulo legis, quis cogitat? 6 · 1 0

Was there a written contract? If not, anything that could serve as a memorandum of the agreement could help him. What I mean by that is any paper that has the material terms of the
deal such as price, time of delivery, and the party to be charged in the event of a breach. Ordinarily a contract for sale of goods in excess of $400 should be written, but a memorandum as
described above can take the deal out of the statute.
How was the payment sent? Any receipt or other evidence of
the payment will support your case. Even without a memorandum of the deal, a court can create what is called a
quasi contract. Even with just the price, a court can, under the
Uniform Commercial Code use what are called gap fillers to fill in
the missing terms. The theory is called quantum meruit, or "what he earned." Courts are known to employ this theory in
a case where unjust enrichment would result from not doing so.
Did the machine work? If not, a breach of an implied warrant
of fitness for a particular purpose can be grounds for recision of
an agreement. It entirely turns on whether the machine performed to specifications or not. Even absent that showing, there is also under the UCC an implied warrant of merchantability, which basically says that the thing will do what it is purported to do.
In summary, there must be some basis for recision of the
contract, some quantifiable defect in the machine. If not, any court of law in the land would probably rule for the builder just based on the pleadings.

2007-01-27 12:53:06 · answer #2 · answered by Jeffrey V 4 · 0 0

Sounds like your brother-in-law should have gotten a contract for sale that specified what would have happened to his deposit if he did not follow through with the contract.

He can likely sue for the money, but he will have to be able to prove that the seller misrepresented the condition of the machine.

Let this be a lesson.

2007-01-27 12:25:02 · answer #3 · answered by J.R. 6 · 0 0

this is a very good question. but i think the best source of information is to talk to a lawyer as they are more familiar with the law. so check out the local law firms and see what they will have to say. i am pretty sure that you will be able to have a court case and get the money back.

2007-01-27 12:28:11 · answer #4 · answered by DarkAngel 3 · 0 0

Don't send money to strangers.... Law of common sense.

2007-01-27 12:32:00 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

he lost it, he should of had a contract written up stating that he would get the deposit back. sorry

2007-01-27 12:27:39 · answer #6 · answered by sarah 3 · 0 0

fedest.com, questions and answers