I know it's not easy for you to go get your stuff, but if it were your child you would drive up there and get him/ her. So forget the damn lawyer... man-up, yourself. Suck it up, go pick up your gear, stop whining. End of story.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Should I get an attorney?
- Thread starter ShawnStones
- Start date
there are two ways to do this- the legal way and the parish way:
The legal way: Get your receipt's of purchase, photos, and all eveidence ot support your claim, make four copies of it all and store the originals. Go to the city or the state police, maybe both, and tell them what happened, and file a theft charge against them. Then go to an attorney and have him write a demand letter: You demand the equipment be returned at their expense, since they refuse to return it, you demand to be paid for the use of the gear, and you demand to be paid for the gig. Add in demand for attorney's fees, all associated court cost, plus damage to reputation and lost time, etc. Let them know you have filed a stolen property report. Give them a set time to pay up and return the gear. Above all, do not slander or libel them or speak ill of them to anyone. This can be used against you. Oh, yeah, if you smoke da' 420, clean up, and get rid of it until this is over.
But there is the parish way. Everybody knows somebody, and has some family pull, and somebody in law enforcement. Get a cop to go over there and get your gear. All the cop has to do is to say something to the affect of, "I hear there is a lot of drug use goin' on here. I don't wanna have to tear the place and the gear apart looking for it. But I will. Now where are the drugs? Lemme see your vehicles, too". The cops there get away with a lot of stuff and this is the time to use it to your advantage. And when it is done, thank the cop with a little langiappe. A free gig for his party will do nicely, and you'll probably never get a traffic ticket again......
I used to live in Hammond, and I know how things work north of the Lake.
Frankly, the cop way will get your gear back real fast, but you won't get any money that way. But whatever works.
The legal way: Get your receipt's of purchase, photos, and all eveidence ot support your claim, make four copies of it all and store the originals. Go to the city or the state police, maybe both, and tell them what happened, and file a theft charge against them. Then go to an attorney and have him write a demand letter: You demand the equipment be returned at their expense, since they refuse to return it, you demand to be paid for the use of the gear, and you demand to be paid for the gig. Add in demand for attorney's fees, all associated court cost, plus damage to reputation and lost time, etc. Let them know you have filed a stolen property report. Give them a set time to pay up and return the gear. Above all, do not slander or libel them or speak ill of them to anyone. This can be used against you. Oh, yeah, if you smoke da' 420, clean up, and get rid of it until this is over.
But there is the parish way. Everybody knows somebody, and has some family pull, and somebody in law enforcement. Get a cop to go over there and get your gear. All the cop has to do is to say something to the affect of, "I hear there is a lot of drug use goin' on here. I don't wanna have to tear the place and the gear apart looking for it. But I will. Now where are the drugs? Lemme see your vehicles, too". The cops there get away with a lot of stuff and this is the time to use it to your advantage. And when it is done, thank the cop with a little langiappe. A free gig for his party will do nicely, and you'll probably never get a traffic ticket again......
I used to live in Hammond, and I know how things work north of the Lake.
Frankly, the cop way will get your gear back real fast, but you won't get any money that way. But whatever works.
Again I point out that, unfortunately, the OP has NOTHING IN WRITING to support his assertion that the band said they'd return his gear. Zip, nada. If they say he's welcome to come and get it, then all this talk of 'stolen property' and 'call the cops' is folly. They'll simply claim he was fired and left his gear, and he is responsible for removing it. It's really that simple.
Dey sen wunna yoze to the hospital, ya sen wunna theyz tadda moague... Dat's da Chicago way...
- Sean Connery
- Sean Connery
I'm with Mr. Turner on this one; but, I have always been a sorta "do-it-yourself" kind of guy. You have had it stuck in you and broken off. I'd select at least one "watch my back" friend and do a road trip. Incidentally, I am never unarmed whether I am home or away...never. You have intimate knowledge of your "ex-buds" and the element of surprise should not be underestimated. (See "The Art of War" - Sun Tzu).
I'm an attorney, although I don't practice in Louisana. Here's a word of non-legal advice--writing a demand letter and pursuing legal action will cost you far more than simply paying to ship your rig. You most likely will not ever recoever these costs, and could end up dealing with legal issues for a very long time without the benefit of your rig while those issues are resolved.
Forget about attitudes, posturing, anger, etc. Anytime you want to get an attorney involved it should be a business decision. Ask yourself, is there a cheaper, quicker alternative to resolve your problem? If it isn't going to be cheaper or expedient enough, or no resolution will come absent legal action, then hire counsel. If, as in this case, you can pay a minimal sum (by comparison) to ship your rig, and will have a quick solution, pay the money, get your gear and move on with your life a little wiser for the experience.
Forget about attitudes, posturing, anger, etc. Anytime you want to get an attorney involved it should be a business decision. Ask yourself, is there a cheaper, quicker alternative to resolve your problem? If it isn't going to be cheaper or expedient enough, or no resolution will come absent legal action, then hire counsel. If, as in this case, you can pay a minimal sum (by comparison) to ship your rig, and will have a quick solution, pay the money, get your gear and move on with your life a little wiser for the experience.
Isn't the band in question supposedly a "christian" band??
Funny how often that doesn't seem to matter.
Funny how often that doesn't seem to matter.
Birds, who says that if he sends the shipping cost money down to the Bayou that they won't just keep that too?
"....ah, yeah dood, like we had to charge him a storage fee while his stuff was here in the way, you know!"
"....ah, yeah dood, like we had to charge him a storage fee while his stuff was here in the way, you know!"
Lawyer letters are nice, although they lose their effectiveness if thare aren't teeth to back up the demands/threats. Assuming that your end goal is to get your equipment back, you will need to establish that they have an obligation to pay the shipment costs. It does not appear that there is anything in writing that would obligate them to do so, or that they have made an oral agreement in this regard. It will be your burden to prove that they should bear the costs of shipping the gear and, frankly, that may be a difficult burden to carry since, as noted above, they can legitimately defend themselves on the grounds that you were let go from the band and simply left your gear behind. As for their use of your gear, that is improper and, at a minimum, you should get them to cease and desist from doing so absent your express permission and the payment of reasonable rental fees. One thought might be to demand a reasonable rental fee for the times that they have used your gear and offer to offset that fee against the cost of shipping your gear back to you -- essentially, establish your right to funds and then have them spend those funds on shipping instead of sending them to you. They might consider this to be a reasonable trade.
Good luck.
Good luck.
You don't send the money to the band, you send it directly to the shipping company.
Contact the manager and inform him you'll will be there this afternoon to pick up your equipment. Get the current location of your gear.
Call your local trucker, find out who regular runs between the locations, and arrange for the pickup. It's a road case, correct? Talk to the depot manager, tell him your story. He'll likely give you a break on the cost.
Pick up your gear from the depot, send the band a reasonable bill for the rental which could include one way freight.
If the bill goes into arrears consider small claims court.
Call your local trucker, find out who regular runs between the locations, and arrange for the pickup. It's a road case, correct? Talk to the depot manager, tell him your story. He'll likely give you a break on the cost.
Pick up your gear from the depot, send the band a reasonable bill for the rental which could include one way freight.
If the bill goes into arrears consider small claims court.
Really sorry to hear of your misfortune.
My 2 cents : you've already established that at the very least, the band manager is untrustworthy. Why would you risk sending them more money when there's no guarantee they'll ship the equipment even then? That's the last thing I would do. Based on just what you've told us, this guy does not have a good track record.
I don't think your totally screwed. If you do have a friend that can rendezvouz with the manager and just pick up the equipment, that might be the best result you could ask for. I'd rather just have it in someone's hands you can at least trust.
good luck!
My 2 cents : you've already established that at the very least, the band manager is untrustworthy. Why would you risk sending them more money when there's no guarantee they'll ship the equipment even then? That's the last thing I would do. Based on just what you've told us, this guy does not have a good track record.
I don't think your totally screwed. If you do have a friend that can rendezvouz with the manager and just pick up the equipment, that might be the best result you could ask for. I'd rather just have it in someone's hands you can at least trust.
good luck!
Which is why he should document having pulled the funds, as well as the purpose of the funds. If that happens, and there's still no shipment, you now know that an attorney needs to get involved because there is no other alternative, and have ample evidence of wrongdoing to go to the sheriff's department.
One way to do this would be to send a personal check with an explanation in the memo section and enclose it in a certified letter, of which you should keep a copy. Give them a specified time frame to ship, and a way to provide a tracking number. If you hear nothing after the letter is received, take legal action.
Alternatively, you could ask them to take your stuff to a shipping company and, as suggested by a prior poster, call the company to arrange for payment of shipping.
I agree with Nagrom... get your stuff shipped. pay for it.. once you have it you can go file a civil complaint (no attorney needed small claims). here it costs $90 to file.. For the amount, include your shipping costs, back pay, legal filing fee.. anything that can be documented. I had to do this once in a completely different situation, but THEY had to pay for a lawyer here to talk to me and then settle, cos it was way more costly for them to defend it than to pay me what was owed... it cost me $90 (that i got back) and walking to the court house twice.. i got 85% of my money.. if they ignore it, then the judgement will go against them and can screw with their credit until its paid.
good luck..
good luck..
+100k on this one. It really just gets me so much to see people being screwed over and disrespected so bad. To the OP- Whatever road you take, I hope it all works out man.
