queenofstripes: If you had any remaining faith in the id

Xanadu in Exile (

queenofstripes) wrote,
@ 2005-03-27 09:27:00

Current mood:	impressed
Current music:	Devo, "Freedom of Choice"

If you had any remaining faith in the idea that the American legal system is structured to protect the little guy, read the story of Henry Mishkoff. It's like Kafka only, remarkably, with a happy ending -- Henry just had to work his ass off to get it.

Admittedly, the actual subject -- an alleged trademark violation on a hobby site -- is not the stuff of Inherit the Wind. But whatever you may think of the merits of his case, I hope you can at least respect his tenacity and share my unease at the impenetrability of our legal system. The summary page alone reads like a bunch of lawyers playing Mornington Crescent.

And incidentally... the Taubman Company Limited Partnership, the Shops at Willow Bend, and the Law Firm of Gifford, Krass, Groh, Sprinkle, Anderson & Citkowski all suck. And if they hadn't made the all-too-common mistake of firing questionable cease-and-desist letters off at a hobbyist, none of you would've ever known just how much they suck. Good job, Ms. Greenberg!

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	vanst 2005-03-27 06:19 pm UTC (link)
	I never knew legal matters could be so entertaining! (Reply to this)(Thread)

	queenofstripes 2005-03-27 06:29 pm UTC (link)
	Yeah, he's a tenacious bastard, isn't he? I was about 29 chapters in when I broke down and checked the condensed version, thinking I was almost at the end. Holy crap, there's a lot of material, but I dunno, there's just something really contagious about his satisfaction at sticking it to these people. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	vanst 2005-03-27 06:46 pm UTC (link)
	I'm somewhere around 53 right now, but I've been up far too long and am scrolling past the legalease I can't decypher, so maybe that's cheating. But yea, this is making me go "Holy shit, I want to buy this guy a beer or shake his hand or something". (Reply to this)(Parent)

	sebkha 2005-03-27 08:22 pm UTC (link)
	What? There was a condensed version? ...D'oh! (Reply to this)(Parent)

	unciaa 2005-03-28 12:16 pm UTC (link)
	There's a condensed version?? Aii... (Reply to this)(Parent)

relee
2005-03-27 07:23 pm UTC (link)

When I studied Law in college, my teacher made quite the point that the legal system actually is very cruel to businesses, when regarding 'the little guy'.

Businesses have done thier best to make sure that nobody knows but lawyers though.

A lot of people don't know there's a difference between a warranty and a guarantee for example. They also don't know that a warranty is a BAD thing.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

	cktraveler 2005-03-28 01:27 am UTC (link)
	They also don't know that a warranty is a BAD thing. Hmm. The dictionary says they're synonyms -- but dictionaries tend to give "layman's" definitions of legal terms, so that's probably not accurate. What is the difference? (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	relee 2005-03-28 05:15 am UTC (link)
	A guarantee is a legal promise to do something. A warranty is an agreement to give up your legal rights as part of a contract. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	unciaa 2005-03-28 12:24 pm UTC (link)
	That'd explain why over here they're called guarantees. Was wondering about the word change... (Reply to this)(Parent)

	cktraveler 2005-03-29 08:59 am UTC (link)
	So basically a warranty isn't them agreeing to replace your thingie if it fails in 90 days, but rather you agreeing not to make them replace it after 91!? Please tell me I've got this wrong ... (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	relee 2005-03-31 04:19 pm UTC (link)
	Bin-go! You're right on the money. That's what a Warranty really is. (Reply to this)(Parent)

prickvixen
2005-03-27 11:45 pm UTC (link)

As I'm reading this, I start to get the idea that court decisions are essentially arbitrary; I mean, who has time to read all this, and really focus on it and make a real decision? I'm pretty sure judges don't devote themselves to one case at a time until it's settled... they have all kinds of things going on. How can they possibly analyze all this material and render a judgment based upon it? I'm guessing they don't.

(Reply to this)

jariel
2005-03-28 12:06 am UTC (link)

I spent all morning wading through that thing! I skipped past a LOT of text that I knew wouldn't mean much to me anyway and it still took hours.

The fact that this suit happened at all is disturbing, but even worse is how Greenberg constantly snipes at the little mistakes Mishkoff makes while completely flouting her own legal requirements, like responding to his discovery requests in any meaningful way. And the judge doesn't seem to notice!

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