Griever/Messages for Defendants
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In the past I have attempted to convey bits of information to the Defendants by "going through channels" (e.g. suggesting to my lawyer that she convey them to the defending attorney to convey to them), but that doesn't seem to work very well.
Maintaing a list of such things here opens up two other possible avenues of communication:
- I can bring them up in mediation, if it seems appropriate
- The Defendants (or their attorney) might read this page (or possibly it will be brought to their attention by a third party)
Trivia
I still have several items which somehow ended up in my possession; please remember to ask for these before the mediation adjourns:
- Lynne's 45 RPM recording
- A couple of Bubba's CDs
- An expired Georgia driver's license of Lynne's
I brought them with me to the previous mediation session and showed them to the mediator, but they got overlooked in the rush at the end of the session.
Update: I returned all of these items to them at the trial.
Legal Matters
(I may or may not bring up these items at the next session, depending on the situation.)
We ended the last session with an agreement that I would produce an accounting (henceforth "sales accounting") showing what RDA would be owed were they to be credited for a share of sales through The Red House Store / vbz.net (henceforth "The Store") under the system described by Lynne; in return for this, Lynne will produce an inventory of all vbz merchandise (i.e. merchandise paid for by any of the Defendants with the intention of selling it in The Store) remaining in their possession.
- To all parties, regarding accountings:
- It was stated that Defendants had not yet seen a sales accounting. It is not true, however, that I had not produced one; I had done so, and it was included in the list of Documents Available for Inspection Online (see "Detailed Accounting of Sales") as early as September 21, 2005. It remains at [ http://www.hypertwins.org/files/rh_sales/ ].
- Now that Lynne has clarified what information she wanted (i.e. an accounting showing receipts and expenses from which to calculate the RDA's share according to the schedule she described), I have produced a slightly different accounting. It is 64 pages long as of this writing and I haven't yet figured out how to format it for the web, but I will be bringing a printout of it to the next mediation session.
- This new accounting shows that for the time period beginning with the first known sale at The Store and ending June 27, 2003 (the date when I notified Bubba that I was ending our business relationship), the net balance of sales showed a loss of $6465.58*; RDA's share of this would then be a further debt of $5172.46. (*Note: initial estimates were closer to $9000; this figure may be revised further as more old paperwork is found and entered into the system.)
- As I have said before, I do not believe there was an agreement in effect between myself and the Defendants by the time RDA's merchandise began selling through The Store (for reasons stated elsewhere), and I do not at this time intend to hold RDA liable for this additional $5k of debt.
- However, in the event that the merchandise remaining is substantially less than my best estimates of what I left in Athens, I will be putting in an additional claim for the estimated value of any missing merchandise. (I am of course willing to consider evidence that my estimates should be revised.) The existing accounting concerns non-business loans and repayments only.
- To the Defendants, regarding their strategy: You appear to be taking up a position which more or less diametrically opposes my own (you state that you are the injured party, and I should pay you damages etc.), but (so far) without any substantiating arguments, much less evidence. I would respectfully suggest that this strategy will be counterproductive for you, for the following reasons:
- The longer this case takes, the more legal and travel expenses I will incur, and I am assessing all such expenses to your account. (The no-show for the very first court date, for example, cost you $247.50 at the IRS mileage rates then in effect.)
- The longer this case takes, the more evidence I find to substantiate my case, and the more I am able to organize it and prepare for a possible court presentation. Conversely, as far as I can tell, you have no substantial evidence to present in defense of your side, otherwise you would have presented it by now.
- The longer this case takes, the more interest will accumulate on your account (the interest for 2005 alone was over $2000).
- I think the reason you are taking up this (completely unreasonable and indefensible) position is so that the mediator will suggest a "middle ground" which will be effectively in your favor. This is Moving the Fulcrum in the hope that the Fallacy of Moderation will prevail; this tactic can only work against an unprepared opponent or if the negotiator is easily misled (neither of which I believe to be true) or in an attempt to stall for time, which I believe (for the reasons given above) will ultimately be detrimental to you.
Mediation
Finally, unless today's negotiations reach a satisfactory conclusion, I propose that the assumption of confidentiality be removed. If there are any particular items which either party wishes kept confidential (and I have seen no evidence that any exist), the affected party may state so explicitly and particularly. If we are going to be spending further hours discovering what (if any) common ground exists between myself and the Defendants in this matter, any progress towards that end should be documented and available for use in court so that the process will not have to be repeated.
In the event that the Defendants do not agree with this request, I see no advantage to continuing these negotiations. The current shroud of secrecy serves only to further delay the progress of this case with no benefit towards establishing the facts of the matter or reaching a fair settlement.