Ask Me Help Desk - Property Damage

I am moving out of town; I put my boat up 4 sale.
Got a Deposit from an interested party.
I Took the boat out to test it for the buyers to ensure it was working properly.

The worker who is paid to load and unload boats tugged on the windshield to adjust the boat on the trailer, and broke it (the windshield). He signed a statement that he broke the windshield and agrees 2 pay for damages.
I went back the next day to speak with the owner, who is also the grandfather to the worker.

He stated that the marina is not responsible, and the boy has no authority to sign such a statement. He also said "the boy was only helping me, and thus is not responsible for any damages"

Now the buyer does not want the boat. The windshield is a custom part. No one can fix or replace this type of classic plexi glass.

I will now have to pay to store the boat, and do not know what to do about the windshield that is a custom part.

Can I sue for losing the sale of the boat, and replacement cost if I can find a replacement for the broken part.

Also, can I sue for storage, and my time I invested traveling all over the city to search for this part?

PLEASE HELP!

Sincerely,

Beth

You can sue for the cost of the windshield only, since of course you still could have sold the boat, you call and get a windshild cost and either order one and agree to furnish a new windshield to the buyer or merely lower the price of the boat to them to allow them to buy a new windshield.

But you can sue the person who broke it, and the company he was working for both.

But not storage or the loss of the sale

I think you can sue for whatever you want. That doesn't mean you'll win. People file frivilous law suits all the time. (not saying yours specifically would be frivilous, but I think you know what I mean.

Do you have proof that the buyer was definitely buying the boat, but changed their mind only because of the broken windshield? I think you would have to prove that. The fact that they gave you a deposit implies that they would buy it, but I think you would still need to prove that the broken windshield was the "deal breaker". And even then, I'm sure there's a limit as to what the judge would award you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rockinmommy

I think you can sue for whatever you want. That doesn't mean you'll win. People file frivilous law suits all the time. (not saying yours specifically would be frivilous, but I think you know what I mean.

Do you have proof that the buyer was definitely buying the boat, but changed their mind only because of the broken windshield? I think you would have to prove that. The fact that they gave you a deposit implies that they would buy it, but I think you would still need to prove that the broken windshield was the "deal breaker". And even then, I'm sure there's a limit as to what the judge would award you.

Yes, she (the buyer) will certainly sign a statement for me, and will explain why. The reason is where I live in Buffalo, we have a very short summer season, thus it would not be feasible for her to wait to have a custom windshield made. It would be too late in the season.

Also, the fact that typically one would not sell a boat in off season, I am stuck storing the boat. That is where I am stuck.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fr_Chuck

you can sue for the cost of the windshield only, since of course you still could have sold the boat, you call and get a windshild cost and either order one and agree to furnish a new windshield to the buyer or merley lower the price of the boat to them to allow them to buy a new windshield.

But you can sue the person who broke it, and the company he was working for both.

But not storage or the loss of the sale

The only problem with this is 1: I am moving... causing a greater inconvenience and time limit on this.

2. The boating season ends by the end on September where I live. Thus no one at this point can really enjoy the boat.

3: I would not sell the boat, losing money due to this person breaking my property through no fault of my own.

I just wonder if a judge would see my point of view..

YOur thoughts?.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fr_Chuck

you can sue for the cost of the windshield only, since of course you still could have sold the boat, you call and get a windshild cost and either order one and agree to furnish a new windshield to the buyer or merley lower the price of the boat to them to allow them to buy a new windshield.

But you can sue the person who broke it, and the company he was working for both.

But not storage or the loss of the sale

Why not storage or loss of sale? The former buyer will happily sign a statement of why.

I also made a small error on the last statement. I meant I would not sell the boat for a lesser value because the guy broke my property.

Quote:

Originally Posted by edollars

I am moving out of town; I put my boat up 4 sale.
Got a Deposit from an interested party.
I Took the boat out to test it for the buyers to ensure it was working properly.

The worker who is paid to load and unload boats tugged on the windshield to adjust the boat on the trailer, and broke it (the windshield). He signed a statement that he broke the windshield and agrees 2 pay for damages.
I went back the next day to speak with the owner, who is also the grandfather to the worker.

He stated that the marina is not responsible, and the boy has no authority to sign such a statement. He also said "the boy was only helping me, and thus is not responsible for any damages"

Now the buyer does not want the boat. The windshield is a custom part. No one can fix or replace this type of classic plexi glass.

I will now have to pay to store the boat, and do not know what to do about the windshield that is a custom part.

Can I sue for losing the sale of the boat, and replacement cost if I can find a replacement for the broken part.

Also, can I sue for storage, and my time I invested traveling all over the city to search for this part?

PLEASE HELP!

Sincerely,

Beth

I believe you are entitled to be made "whole," get back any money you lost. That would include (obviously) the cost of the windshield. You also have to pay storage expenses due to failure to sell the boat. If you get less for the boat when you do sell, then you sue for that.

Obviously if you get more for the boat, you subtract that.

I think you sue to be made whole - the worst thing that can happen is the Judge says no. Just don't get crazy with what you think you are owed.

I would do nothing until the boat is actually sold and you know what your damages are.

I'm not sure about the storage. Frankly, I'm not sure why your buyer is backing out of the deal over a broken windshield. Yes, the boating season is short, but are they buying another boat from someone else? If they are, then I'm thinking that they may not have been earnest about buying your boat. Also, there is nothing to stop you from selling this boat before the end of September, possibly for a lower price because of the broken windshield (which you would then ask for the marina to repay the difference in the two prices). If you make no effort to do so, and sit on the boat until next summer, then I don't think that you are moving to mitigate your damages, and it looks like you are just trying to get free storage out of the marina.

At the end of the day... you are trying to sell a boat at the end of the boating season. Which means that you might not have found a buyer in the first place, so the storage for the winter would have been coming out of your pocket anyway.

That you can sue for the damage to the boat is pretty clear.

Whether you can sue for the lost sale may be a different story. One thing you may need to prove to the court is that you attempted to mitigate your damages. Mitigation could include promising the seller that you would replace the window prior to the sale or discounting the price of the boat by the cost of the windshield replacement.