Posted By:
Kenny ColeYes it is proof. His testimony that he placed the card in the package, insured it, and mailed it to the appropriate address is proof of those facts. Similarly, the testimony of the PSA employee who signed for the package (and presumably opened it) that the card wasn't there is proof. It then basically comes down to a matter of which testimony the jury finds more credibile. A real simple analogy is the intersectional car wreck case where there are no witnesses other than the participants who come forward, and each side says that they have the green light. The locations of the vehicles, skidmarks, etc. may be important, but those types of cases are very often won based on which of the two parties the jury thinks is telling the truth. It seems like a similar situation might exist here.
Maybe a suit is the answer. However, there are a few practical problems with what is essentially a coast-to-coast negligence lawsuit over $6,000. Depending on where it was filed, I suppose it might be an attorneys fee case since it involves loss of property. However, you take three depositions and you've eaten into that $6K a bunch, and you probably ain't gonna get all of those costs back even if you win. A long time ago, my senior partner told me that wars were fought over principle but lawsuits were fought over money. The possible recovery here, compared with the potential costs involved, may make a lawsuit problematic. However, if you decide to go that route, I hope you prevail. What happened stinks and it is a classic case of responsibility shirking. Why have cameras to allegedly prevent this type of thing if you aren't going to use them? That sort of smells.