How is "I'll pay you $800 to keep your game" working it out?

And how is that the point? You took his machine, offered to fix it for $X. And now you're saying it's more. You can't change the terms of the agreement.

Now if he really did say, "I'm a blank check, fix whatever you want for as much as you want," then post the texts/emails. Otherwise, you're looking kinda slimy right now.... First rule of holes: When you're in one, stop digging.

Prove it. It's really that simple.

You shouldn't be. He'll be able to sue for more than just the machine being sold for $2550. He'll be able to get damages on top of that. My landlord learned that the hard way when he refused to return my security deposit...

Umm, you taking his machine and not giving it back to him for the agreed upon amount. You'll lose. And end up paying more than the extra $450 you want. But whatever, it's more entertaining for us.

Have you gone to file a police report yet? I'd recommend doing that today. Then take the police report, go to city hall, and file your small claims.

I would've agreed with this on the first page or two. But after seeing Nifty's responses? No. Hell, even the original $2550 is being generous given his attitude and the fact it took 2-3 years to complete the work.

You're right - he hasn't disputed that he said he'd pay $2550 for all of the work you did. Yet you're dragging it on for $450. Which I believe your business could even write off as a loss, no?

Why do you say it would go to an arbitrator? Is that a California thing? In my situation (not the same, as mine was rental law, but whatever), I went directly to court and won the judgement. (of course, the landlord literally said at one point, "I raised my right hand and promised to tell the truth, isn't that good enough?" The judge was not amused... ).

That doesn't say you have to go to mediation, it just says it's an option...

Right, which is why I think the OP is probably in the clear here, although he'd have to research what California lets him claim for extra damages (in Minnesota, I found that I was allowed to sue for twice the security deposit plus $200 because landlord illegally withheld it). He has lots of texts he can print out. He can also print out this thread and highlight the important pieces. And if Nifty is as much of a jerk in court as he is here (my landlord was...), it's a slam dunk.

You're right that the judge will want to make both sides "happy" and "mad" at the same time, but this really feels like an open and shut case to me based on what we've seen.

You should've initially asked for $10k -- then you could've said "I came down $7k, you can come up $1k."

I already answered this earlier. The damages are time from you not sticking to the agreement. In Minnesota (I can't speak to California), a landlord not returning your security deposit means the tenant can sue for twice the deposit plus a $200 penalty. So in my case, my landlord didn't want to give me my $500 security deposit back -- and I was able to sue him for $1200.

This is pretty similar in concept. You have his machine and you aren't giving it back for the agreed upon price. You're holding him hostage. There will be penalties for his damages.

Good luck. Doesn't seem like you'll need it though.

Here ya go https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/popcorn-machine-who-has-one/page/25#post-4121811

True -- which is where Nifty could bring his text messages. But if he doesn't have any...... That backs up Sticky even more. Daniel's going to have a hard time showing the $4200. And then there's the matter of Nifty trying to sell the machine, which will piss the judge off. I think Sticky wins in a landslide, but I don't know what the penalty would be since it's different for different states.

I can only speak from my experience, but Nifty seems a lot like my ex-landlord, and he was literally laughed out of court. Seriously, the other people waiting for their case to be tried were laughing at him half the trial.

I must be the only one who thought it was kinda fun going to small claims court....

The letter seriously says you have to pay $4200, after he's already said $3k here? That's gold right there. No judge is going to take his side.

That's literally what a coworker of mine told me just yesterday. And then I told him the whole story of what happened and he laughed and said I was still a sick bastard, but in this case, he understood why I thought it was fun. LOL

Oh, you're going to load the machine for him? And take the loss if you accidentally drop it? Otherwise I think he'll need at least two. Maybe 3.

Yes, this. (although lend, not borrow ).

If he's a legit business, he should not be requiring cash IMHO. That just sounds even shadier. (as someone mentioned earlier, he probably wasn't going to pay business taxes, but... he should be).

Or may I suggest Project Pinball? http://projectpinball.org/

Umm, did you know that Project Pinball puts pinball machines in children's hospitals so that they can have a few minutes of fun in between their treatments? So that helps families and children and is a good Christmas thing. http://projectpinball.org/