Outranked by Major Engine Damage - The Lawsuits

[Rick Damiani <rickd@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Those of you who have been following this saga may remember that my
last communication with Matt Capri of South Bay Triumph included a
promise from him that he would refund the $120.00 he charged me for
'diagnostic' work. When the check failed to arrive, I called to see
what was up. Oddly enough, Matt was never available and wouldn't
return my calls. I wasn't really looking forward to going out there in
person, but it was becoming increasingly apparent that I would have to
do exactly that to get my money.

So there I was, in Torrance on a weekday afternoon. I thought I'd pop
over there, pick up my check, and put the whole nasty business behind
me. Boy was *that* naive.

I entered the shop and saw that Matt was there and on the phone. When
he finished his call, I asked him about my refund. He hemmed and hawed
a bit - said he was still working on getting reimbursed from Triumph
and that he'd mail a check as soon as that happened. I pointed out
that it had been a couple of months already, and that his getting
reimbursed had nothing to do with his refunding my money.

That's when it just got bizarre. He apparently has been reading the
things I posted here, and he was none too happy about it. He informed
me that I was about to be sued for slander, that if I had 'behaved' he
would have refunded my money already, and that he might see his way
clear to refund my money sometime in the future if I started to
'behave'.

I pointed out that its not slander if its true, which didn't seem to
make much of an impression on him. I asked him if I was gonna have to
take him to small claims court to get my money. By way of reply, he
told me that I had started something and I better be able to finish
it. I guess that told me.

Boy, that really made me think, and I had a nice long ride to do my
thinking in. My options, it seems to me, are:

 - I post a retraction and maybe get my money. If I behave.

 - I sue him in small claims court, file a claim against him with the
California B.A.R., contact the BBB, send a certified letter of
complaint to Triumph of North America, and maybe get sued for telling
folks about the way he chose to do business with me.

Well Matt - if you are reading rec.motorcycles, the Sprint ST list,
the LABiker list, or e-mail addressed to webmaster@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I guess you know what I decided to do. I'll call again on Tuesday and
see if you maybe changed your mind, but somehow I don't think you
will.

In the meantime - anyone know a good lawyer?
- -- 
A host is a host from coast to coast ..................... Rick Damiani
and no one will talk to a host that's close .... rickd@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Unless the host (that isn't close) ......... rickd@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
is busy, hung or dead ..............................NGI# T695 DoD #2659
'99 Triumph Sprint ST (Guppy) ....... '86 Yamaha Radian (Fire Breather)

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