Received a Law sue certified mail today

irahs · #23 07-15-2016

Your brother can perhaps feign ignorance since anyone can use his name in theory, but yeah, check with a lawyer asap

Bunneh · #24 07-15-2016

The OP only used his brothers NAME.
The address he used is stealth..
Phone number is a friends.

So depending on how common his name is.. i would say his brother will be fine.

As for the info attached tot he EIN number... not so fine.

glacier922 · #25 07-15-2016

Butter bear, did the pull your info from your account details? Was it one of those eBay member requesting information or did your letter come mysteriously in the mail?

butterbear · #26 07-15-2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by UKGiftWarranty

I'm not trying to be a smartass, but why oh why would you use personal details of people so close to home if you were selling in a risky area? I'm not for one second judging your trade ethics- I myself sell in some murky waters but if you're going stealth why would you use family members details when with hardly any additional work you could muddy the trail?

As suggested in this thread, get legal advice. I've been informed of the intention by a company to be sued but the monetary value linked to the case was small enough, relatively speaking (£250,000GBP loss revenue to THEM, NOT my sales) for me to simply agree to cease immediately, and confirm in writing. They did try to shake me down for money, but I stood firm saying I was unwilling to agree a financial settlement and they accepted based on the aforementioned conditions. I did state that I was unable to afford a settlement, I took a risk here and they didn't press to review my finances.

If you're talking on a large scale, or if you dealing with a firm who simply want to prove a point. This may or may not happen. The key thing to do here which i cannot stress enough is to establish what they're looking to do... are they truly looking to bring criminal charges, or are they looking to settle the issue outside of court; whether that meaning you just agree cease, or whether it's a financial settlement on top, too.

Unless we're talking millions, it's likely they simply want to ensure you cease. But don't be surprised if they propose a financial settlement on top. Be prepared to negotiate, as they will be.

Thank you for your reply.

First of all, Well my brother's name is pretty common, and that was a business address, he doesn't live there and have no info attached to that address. where to obtain an EIN if i don't use my personal info?
Second, I started selling these parts just about 1 and half months, i think the total sales is less than 10k and the feedback is about 150. I have no clue why they picked me, since there were many other sellers with huge number of sales.

butterbear · #27 07-15-2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by yankee

Certified Letter from a lawyer or a Judgement?

Post up your letter but block out your brothers personal details and of course consult with a legal adviser.

I have dropped off the mail to my friend's boss he is a lawyer, i might get it back in two days and i will post it here.

butterbear · #28 07-15-2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by irahs

Your brother can perhaps feign ignorance since anyone can use his name in theory, but yeah, check with a lawyer asap

Thanks for the reply, yea i dropped off the mail at my friend's lawyer, he will take a look at it tomorrow.

butterbear · #29 07-15-2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bunneh

The OP only used his brothers NAME.
The address he used is stealth..
Phone number is a friends.

So depending on how common his name is.. i would say his brother will be fine.

As for the info attached tot he EIN number... not so fine.

If i used my own EIN, my brother will be fine and i'm not right? because i don't want him get in trouble.

nodeal · #30 07-15-2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by butterbear

Thanks for the reply, yea i dropped off the mail at my friend's lawyer, he will take a look at it tomorrow.

Good luck keep us updated. Hope everything works out for you. In the future, keep personal info, especially friends/family, away from merch like this.

butterbear · #31 07-15-2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by nodeal

Good luck keep us updated. Hope everything works out for you. In the future, keep personal info, especially friends/family, away from merch like this.

Thanks, i will keep this post update, so everyone could be aware in the future.

butterbear · #32 07-15-2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by glacier922

Butter bear, did the pull your info from your account details? Was it one of those eBay member requesting information or did your letter come mysteriously in the mail?

Hi, they have my EIN business name, the certified mail was mailed to my return address.

GreenBean · #33 07-15-2016

Can I point put that NONE of you are attornies at law in the USA.

Your replies are only misguided info and may harm the OP.

UKGiftWarranty · #34 07-15-2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by butterbear

Thank you for your reply.

First of all, Well my brother's name is pretty common, and that was a business address, he doesn't live there and have no info attached to that address. where to obtain an EIN if i don't use my personal info?
Second, I started selling these parts just about 1 and half months, i think the total sales is less than 10k and the feedback is about 150. I have no clue why they picked me, since there were many other sellers with huge number of sales.

Naturally I'm from the UK and this is a US issue, but for those numbers i'd be amazed if they took you all the way. Whilst I appreciate it's worrying; in my experience for numbers like these the vast majority of companies would only be looking to ensure you cease trading, providing you make an admission to them accepting you were responsible for wrongdoing. This will essentially give them a slam dunk prosecution if in future you were stupid enough to break the agreement and start selling again.

Naturally your lawyer friend will know much more than myself but things could certainly have been a lot worse. Worst case scenario I see happening here is they force you to cease and request all proceeds made to date- at which point, providing this is indeed prior to any court hearing, you will be able to negotiate. A slightly lesser deal for them will still leave them better off than if they were to pursue you through the courts considering legal fees (for all they know they could do this, win the hearing and be awarded proceeds+court costs and you could be unable to pay - they are unlikely to do this unless you flat out refuse to cooperate).

Definitely report back once you've spoken with the lawyer. The sooner you establish whether they are open to negotiate, the sooner you'll sleep easier at night. And remember, if they are willing, this is very much a two sided negotiation at this stage... just don't push your luck.

Good luck.

P.S Ref EIN Q, fair point. Being from the UK we don't have that hurdle.

jeffweico · #35 07-15-2016

The OP NEEDS AN ATTORNEY! There are no two ways about it. They have an EIN, they have your brother's information etc. Your brother will probably be all right, because it will come out at the trial that he was not the one selling anything. If I were your brother I would file an affidavit stating that i had no knowledge of it and I had absolutely nothing to do with it.

You will have to stand up and take responsibility here. My guess is that they are NOT going to go away. And I wouldn't count on a sympathetic judge or jury, because they are going bring up that this is a SAFETY ISSUE and that you were potentially putting lives at risk if the items are car parts and not radio knobs (do they still have those???).

But it is VERY IMPORTANT to speak to an attorney immediately. Nobody on the forum, myself included, is qualified to dispense legal advice. There are no lawyers here. And you need legal advice from an attorney who specializes in intellectual property and trademark law.

jeffweico · #36 07-15-2016

The other part of this is the damage done to the relationship between you and your brother. Like it or not, he is going to be involved in this one way or another. If he knew about it and told you to go for it, then he made his own bed and all that. But if not, I cannot imagine he is going to be too happy about all of this.

This is a perfect example of why you should never use your friends or relatives as a part of your business plan. Especially if your business model is selling anything illegal.

For a couple thousand in profits, you may have seriously damaged your relationship with your brother and maybe even your parents. It just isn't worth it. Believe me, as you get older, your family and your TRUE friends become more important. These are the people who will help you through the tough times and we do not live in a warm fuzzy world where everyone is nice and everything is fair and everything runs smoothly. We live in a world where it is not enough for ME to win, YOU have to lose and lose badly. People will screw you over just because they can! Not everybody, of course, but there are enough of these people out there to make your life miserable.

I am saying this not to kick the OP when he is down, but to warn anyone else thinking of using their friends and relative for their eBay sales to think again.

unkown5454 · #37 07-15-2016

Ford led the last smackdown in this industry years ago. I'm sure they're still fishing for guppies.

Haidukken · #38 07-16-2016

bluegrass1 · #39 07-16-2016

Was the parts for customizing a car or like knockoff airbags I mean could safety be a issue ?

vogeltron · #40 07-17-2016

Assuming it was a Certified Letter you got. Anytime you get a certified letter its bad news. If they are sending you this and demanding a trial it means that someone at the law firm or the trademark owner purchased one of the products from you. I would advise getting a lawyer. To be honest you are lucky this is a civil case if it comes to it and you didn't have Homeland Security raid you place.

Jackery · #41 07-18-2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by UKGiftWarranty

if you're going stealth why would you use family members details?

They are trying to get high limit accounts.

phaz0rz · #42 07-18-2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jackery

They are trying to get high limit accounts.

Highly doubt that had anything to do with their intentions.

XTC4ME · #43 07-27-2016

This is from Johnson & Pham representing BMW? They are well known trademark trolls. Personally I told them to f-ck off when they emailed me but my account cannot be traced back to me in any way. I did do a little research on them and they do file suits and press hard for payments. You need to talk to a lawyer asap.

glacier922 · #44 07-27-2016

They emailed you? Did they return your products too? Lol