The $54 Million Laptop 502
Stanislav_J writes "It happens to the best of us: you drop off your laptop at the local branch of some Super Mega Electronics McStore, go to pick it up, and they can't find it. Lost, gone, kaput — probably sucked into a black hole and now breeding with lost airline luggage. It would make any of us mad, but Raelyn Campbell of Washington, D.C. isn't just mad — she's $54 million mad. That's how much she is asking from Best Buy in a lawsuit that seeks 'fair compensation for replacement of the $1,100 computer and extended warranty, plus expenses related to identity theft protection.' Best Buy claims that Ms. Campbell was offered and collected $1,110.35 as well as a $500 gift card for her inconvenience. (I guess that extra 35 cents wasn't enough to sway her.) Her blog claims that Geek Squad employees spent three months telling her different stories about where her laptop might be before finally acknowledging that it had been lost. For those who follow economic trends, this means that a laptop's worth is roughly equivalent to that of a pair of pants."
Somewhat justifiable (Score:5, Informative)
She's not the loon that the submitter tries to make her out to be. There are a bunch of mitigating factors here, and I highly suggest anyone who complains about her actiosn dig a little deeper.
The thing that really ticks me off more than anything is that the lady paid $300 for one of those ripoff store warranties. This kind of money is normally pure profit for companies, since very few people actually collect on it. However, when someone does have a problem, I expect them to fulfill their obligations on it, not lie and jerk around the customer who bought it for THREE MONTHS. To fix a friggin' POWER BUTTON.
Also, please keep in mind that she admits that she does not expect to actually win $54 million. The reason she chose that amount is because, as stated, they've been lying to her and jerking her around for three months, and this was the only way she felt that it could get any attention.
Normally, I frown upon these cases myself for being a drain on the system and a waste of time. But seriously, read what she's gone through [blogspot.com] before deciding that she's out of line for trying to punish them for how stupid they've been. She may not be 100% right here, but I don't think that she's 100% wrong, and I have to admit that I hope she gets a pretty high payout to strike a punitive blow against the company for its practices.
What the summary didn't include (Score:5, Informative)
"Campbell's tax returns were on her laptop, and Best Buy apparently violated Washington, DC's security breach notification laws by not telling her about the potential data loss. And the potential for data theft as a result of missing equipment is no laughing matter: the state of Ohio, TSA, IRS, US Department of Transportation, and the Veterans Administration have all lost equipment (often laptops) that have forced them to alert millions of citizens to watch out for identity theft. Campbell says that she still hasn't heard from Best Buy on that particular issue, and has been forced to incur extra costs to monitor all of her accounts for suspicious activity."
On top of that, the victim also notes that she herself thinks 54 mil is too much, but thinks it is necessary to get the media attention to make Best Buy do the right thing.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080212-victim-54-million-best-buy-lawsuit-stupid-but-necessary.html [arstechnica.com]
Re:identity theft protection? (Score:5, Informative)
Not only did they fail to do that, they repeatedly lied to her and made up stories about where it was so that only months later did she actually realize that her data was at risk.
Completely different situation (Score:5, Informative)
This is not the same as "crazy pants guy". Let's count a few ways quickly:
...And so on. Like I said, this is a completely different situation.
Re:Tenleytown Best Buy! (Score:5, Informative)
Obviously you didn't read the whole thing. She originally offered to settle for the cost of the laptop plus a grand to cover part of the cost of lost software, music, etc. She offered this as an alternative to her going to small claims and getting a judgment for $5k, which she probably would have gotten, given the time she's wasted getting them to even admit it was stolen in the first place, and the lies (and the fraudulently generated computer entries in their own system) to try and cover their rectums.
She agrees the amount she's asking is outrageous - and that she's doing so because maybe THAT is what it takes to get Worst Buy's attention, exp. vis. the whole "identity theft" issue.
I particularly like how she "bitch-slapped" the corporate lawyer's motion to quash.
Re:What the summary didn't include (Score:4, Informative)
Punitive damages really don't have much to do with greed on the part of the plaintiff , but rather punishment on the defense side. If the judge thinks Best Buy was negligent and should be punished, then the amount has to be significant enough for them to "hurt" and want to avoid it in the future.
Best Buy is a big company. My guess is it'd take more than a million dollars to make them flinch.
Re:She's a loon. (Score:5, Informative)
You're wrong.
RTFA - the laptop was stolen from Worst Buy, most probably by an employee, as it was in a "secure area". As such, they are liable for the contents - it has nothing to do with any warranty or protection plan.
Worst Buys' sloppy procedures and/or dishonest employee(s) are the proximate cause. They're liable.
Considering that they lied to her for MONTHS about the laptop being missing, they were worse than wilfully negligent.
This is not a warranty issue. If she had brought an out-of-warranty laptop to be repaired, they'd still have the same problem. Someone (almost 100% certainty an employee) stole the laptop. They have to make good on it. Or are you going to argue that I can steal your laptop, your car, or anything else if its not under worranty, and you have no recourse?
She's not asking for a replacement laptop under warranty - the warranty doesn't cover THEFT!!! She's entitled to be made "complete" - and that involves compensating her for the laptop, its contents, and her lost time while they lied to her about it being stolen.
Again, this is not a warranty issue - Worst Buy "lost" her laptop after it was moved to a supposedly secure area. So, either an employee stole it, or an employee was negligent / gave access to someone else, who stole it. The warranty doesn't cover theft - the store is responsible. Nobody is obliged to "endure inconvenience" while a store loses/steals their property, then lies for months about it, then generates fake computer entries to say "yes, its in the system". Both the original theft and the fake computer entries were criminal acts.
Please RTFA -she never got it back. It was STOLEN!
I didn't miss anything. Read the law. (Score:2, Informative)
The law only covers data and systems maintained by Best Buy, it does NOT cover data and systems maintained by the customer.
Re:Mod Parent Up (Score:2, Informative)
What part of "I tried to give it back, but they wouldn't take it" constitutes "acceptance"..?
Re:54 million pair of pants (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Incompetence ok, Lying Bad, Backups Priceless (Score:3, Informative)
Still, it will be difficult for her to "prove" that she had the formula for Coke, the Cure for Cancer, or where she put her car keys, etc.. on her laptop's HDD. I wish her luck.
OTOH, I maintain two separate physical hard drives for my PC laptop.
I simply removed the original OEM HDD as soon as I unboxed my laptop and I used (Drive Copy 4.0 boot floppies) to create an EXACT clone of the original HDD (onto a larger and faster 7,200RPM Seagate HDD with 5-year warranty and shock sensors) the very same day I got my new laptop.
Guess which drive I install before I send my laptop away for *any* type of service (or if it is for be loaned, etc..) It also comes in handy when it comes time to sell the laptop onto the used market.. Nothing to unformat or undelete.. no privacy woes. (I backup my data too, just saying..)
The courtroom is not a forum. (Score:3, Informative)
None of that changes the fact that: Filing suit to advertise and create a forum for your cause is extremely unlawful, and people who do it are rightfully punished. Why do you think we don't frequently see "Colgate vs. Gingivitis" and other assorted bullshit? It's because the courtroom really is Serious Business, and you check that kind of thing at the door under fear of pecuniary liability.
Plus, it doesn't matter how many courtroom dramas you've seen, BSing a judge and pleading grandiose "My voice must be heard!" nonsense is a great way to lose your case and owe the court a bucket of money, under the aforementioned sanction rules. I realize this is Slashdot, so people don't like to hear about how the little guy really is in the wrong in any particular case, but I assure you that's what's happened here.
I want to get my hands on that pleading, and I want to know exactly which attorney and firm took her case, if any.
Re:Tenleytown Best Buy! (Score:3, Informative)
because it's a classic case of wild, outrageous, or ridiculous lawsuits.
Go look up the actual facts of the case and then STFU!
I am quite familiar with the facts of the case.
Stella Liebeck was in the passenger seat of her grandson's car when they got coffee at a McDonalds. Instead of handling the cup safely, she placed it between her (pointy) knees, and pulled the lid off. The pulling caused the cup to rotate between her knees, spilling the coffee on her crotch. This resulted in severe burns to her groin.
The main argument was that the coffee was "too hot" at 185 degrees.. This is not correct. Firstly, the National Coffee Association (and who better to know how to properly prepare coffee?) recommends coffee be brewed at "between 195-205 degrees Fahrenheit for optimal extraction" and drunk "immediately". If not drunk immediately, it should be "maintained at 180-185 degrees Fahrenheit." Second, coffee makers you buy for your home use water at that same temperature. (I can provide links to some online coffeemaker manuals if you doubt me.)
Another arguement the plaintiff used was that there are (gasp!) 700 other burns reported to McDonalds. 700 sounds like a large number, until you realize three things:
1) That number includes burns of all degrees. From First Degree (red skin, like sunburn) to Second Degree (blisters) to Third Degree (skin coming off). Since the number was not broken down by degree, one can only conclude that breaking the number down did not serve the purposes of the plaintiff. ie: most of the burns were mild.
2) that 700 figure was for the previous 10 years
3) that figure was NATIONWIDE.
Also, that doesn't take into account how many cups are sold without incident. A McDonald's consultant pointed out the 700 cases in 10 years represents just 1 injury per 24 million cups sold! For every injury, no matter how severe, 23,999,999 people managed to drink their coffee without any injury whatever.
Conclusion- clumsy biatch dumped coffee on herself. It was NOT 'too hot', she was just clumsy. It was not "unreasonably dangerous", she was just clumsy. It was her own fault, McDonalds owed her nothing.
Re:Tenleytown Best Buy! (Score:5, Informative)
Read up on the Facts of the case [lawandhelp.com]
The facts of the case, which caused a jury of six men and six women to find McDonald's coffee was unreasonably dangerous and had caused enough human misery and suffering that no one should be made to suffer exposure to such excessively hot coffee again, will shock and amaze you:
McFact No. 1: For years, McDonald's had known they had a problem with the way they make their coffee - that their coffee was served much hotter (at least 20 degrees more so) than at other restaurants.
McFact No. 2: McDonald's knew its coffee sometimes caused serious injuries - more than 700 incidents of scalding coffee burns in the past decade have been settled by the Corporation - and yet they never so much as consulted a burn expert regarding the issue.
McFact No. 3: The woman involved in this infamous case suffered very serious injuries - third degree burns on her groin, thighs and buttocks that required skin grafts and a seven-day hospital stay.
McFact No. 4: The woman, an 81-year old former department store clerk who had never before filed suit against anyone, said she wouldn't have brought the lawsuit against McDonald's had the Corporation not dismissed her request for compensation for medical bills.
McFact No. 5: A McDonald's quality assurance manager testified in the case that the Corporation was aware of the risk of serving dangerously hot coffee and had no plans to either turn down the heat or to post warning about the possibility of severe burns, even though most customers wouldn't think it was possible.
McFact No. 6: After careful deliberation, the jury found McDonald's was liable because the facts were overwhelmingly against the company. When it came to the punitive damages, the jury found that McDonald's had engaged in willful, reckless, malicious, or wanton conduct, and rendered a punitive damage award of 2.7 million dollars. (The equivalent of just two days of coffee sales, McDonalds Corporation generates revenues in excess of 1.3 million dollars daily from the sale of its coffee, selling 1 billion cups each year.)
McFact No. 7: On appeal, a judge lowered the award to $480,000, a fact not widely publicized in the media.
McFact No. 8: A report in Liability Week, September 29, 1997, indicated that Kathleen Gilliam, 73, suffered first degree burns when a cup of coffee spilled onto her lap. Reports also indicate that McDonald's consistently keeps its coffee at 185 degrees, still approximately 20 degrees hotter than at other restaurants. Third degree burns occur at this temperature in just two to seven seconds, requiring skin grafting, debridement and whirlpool treatments that cost tens of thousands of dollars and result in permanent disfigurement, extreme pain and disability to the victims for many months, and in some cases, years.
Re:Again, no... YOU RTFA and RTFL. (Score:5, Informative)
Of course Best Buy "maintained, handled or otherwise possessed" the data. When they sold the insurance, what would you call it, if not a maintenance contract? And did they not then take actual possession of the machine, when she called on them to honor the contract? With the specific intent of fixing it because it was broken? That sure sounds like "maintenance" or "handling" to me, but she doesn't even need to prove that. She just has to prove that Best Buy possessed the data, that they lost it, and then stonewalled about it.
Re:Move along, nothing to see here... (Score:3, Informative)
You know, I bought a Compaq laptop a while back, and it had an overheating problem. I called Compaq, and a prepaid shipping container was at my door the next day. I sent it off, and it came back real fast.
Not all companies are dedicated to the worst customer service they can manage.
Re:Exactly. (Score:3, Informative)
For example, if I'm a locksmith and I leave your house unlocked in Compton, that's probably negligent. But if I'm a locksmith and I leave your house unlocked in BFE Iowa, and I can prove that you haven't locked your door in years (setting aside for a minute that that probably means you don't need a locksmith), then that's probably not negligent.
Negligence is all about REASONABLE action.
Re:Sorry, I quoted the right part. Try again. (Score:3, Informative)
Then looking at the "breach of the security system" definition, plainly there was "unauthorized acquisition
Anyway, if she had banking info on there, and everyone does, that would clearly compromise "the security, confidentiality, OR integrity" of the data. Pick any of these, not all are required.
Returning then to the earlier part, if BB did not tell her in the most expedient fashion possible that her data was at risk, then they're liable.
Don't get hung up on "maintained" as in "made backups and stored it securely on tapes in someone's car". All BB had to do was possess the device -- which they did, allow it to be acquired by an unauthorized entity (including themselves), and then not tell her about the loss quickly.
You aren't by chance a shill poster for BB are you?
Re:Tenleytown Best Buy! (Score:5, Informative)
Bunn does not say that 175 is too cold. They say "Dont reheat it".
And the rest of your articles give brewing temperature, not serving temperature.
Re:Tenleytown Best Buy! (Score:3, Informative)
Sorry, that was not my source. Please play again.
in the early 1990's home coffeemakers only brewed up to 130-140 degrees
And today, they brew hotter.
http://www.bunn.com/retail/bunn_difference.html [bunn.com]
"The patented ready-to-brew reservoir keeps water at the ideal brewing temperature of approximately 200. (Conventional home brewers heat water until it boils up to coffee basket.)"
Bunn also recommends you DO use "a brewer that keeps water at 200 Fahrenheit" and that you DON'T even bother reheating coffee if it's "below 175 F".
Re:Tenleytown Best Buy! (Score:3, Informative)
They say 'don't reheat it', because once it's fallen to 175, it no longer tastes good. Therefore, for it to taste good, you need to keep it ABOVE 175. McDonalds had it 180-185.
And the rest of your articles give brewing temperature, not serving temperature.
NOT TRUE. Learn to read. The Homeclick link says "dispenses at the correct 180 degree temperature" DISPENSES, as in "serving temp", of 180.
The Morekitchenappliences link is refering to a SERVING carafe that keeps coffee hot for SERVING to people. It mentions how well it hold the heat "based on water at a starting temperature of 203F".
You want more?
http://www.boyds.com/coffee/brewingguide.html [boyds.com]
"If brewed coffee must be "held" on a direct heat source, it should be held at 185F,....Lower temperatures make the brew too cold and consumers will be dissatisfied. "
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070926204605AAFm6xU [yahoo.com]
"several restaurants, including the one I work for, have a minimum temperature that coffee must be served. In the case of the company I work for, it's 180 degrees+.
So, a coffee may be "too hot" to your standards, but as far as the restaurant that served it, it was "just right""
http://coffeeflavour.blogspot.com/2008/02/right-temperature-for-hot-coffee.html [blogspot.com]
"Ideally, the right temperature for serving coffee is 165 - 175 degrees."
http://solutions-cds.com/FAQ.htm [solutions-cds.com]
"185 degrees to 190 degrees temperature for holding beverage coffee. "
Sheesh.