Auction Item returned to seller. This ever happen to you?

[ls7plus]

Hi, guys.

I am a lawyer in Michigan, and I can tell you that while bidding in the auction would constitute an acceptance of the auction's terms, and a subsequent failure to pay a breach of contract, it is quite often the case that any matter actually put into litigation results in 20 hours or even more of the lawyer's time, from the filing of the complaint to initiate the action, reviewing an answer, along with possibly responding to affirmative defenses if an answer is filed, perhaps attending a pre-trial conference with the court, filing motions of one sort or another before trial, engaging in discovery (written interrogatories or even depositions) in more complex cases, attending settlement conferences, and finally perhaps trial if the case is not settled before then. At hourly rates of $150-$200+ per hour, unless the item is a significantly valuable one, the costs incurred usually make such an action prohibitive from a plaintiff's standpoint (lawyers do not often take these kinds of cases on a contingency basis). Even if the action is filed and the defendant fails to answer, ultimately resulting in a default judgment being entered, the services of a collections attorney may ultimately have to be employed in addition to go out and find assest of the defendant, hence more legal fees (in Michigan, collections attorneys may ethically charge up to 50%, and bailiffs assisting them in excecution upon the defendant's assets also get a piece of the action). It's probably worth it if you have an item valued at at least $12,000-$15,000 or so, but cost-prohibitive otherwise.

Hope this helps,

Larry