Lawsuits: Broken Plate

[David ilvedson]

> Date:          Tue, 01 Apr 1997 15:40:21 -0500 (EST)
> From:          Les Smith <lessmith@buffnet.net>
> Subject:       Re: Lawsuits: Broken Plate
> To:            pianotech@byu.edu
> Reply-to:      pianotech@byu.edu

Great advice Les,

I might add that I would think the consensus from piano
technicians would be that raising the pitch of a piano to
standard pitch will not be a factor in a plate's failure.  There had to be
a pre-condition for this to happen.  Does the list feel the same
way as I do?

David ilvedson
Pacifica, CA


> My sincere condolences to your friend. This is every technicians night-
> mare. You don't say what kind of piano is was; whether it was an upright
> or grand; what it's age was, etc.--this may be important. Also you didn't
> say HOW MUCH you friend was being sued for, and whether this was a "small
> claims" action, or not.
>
> The first thing yur friend should do is to consulte with an attorney. Even
> if this is a small claims case, he can be represented by lawyer.It sounds
> like he will need one. As far as your testifing as to the condition of
> the plate, before it broke, seeing as how you never even SAW the piano, I
> don't think that your testimony would carry a great deal of weight (sorry
> about that!). A somewhat better approach might be to find someone quali-
> fied to testify to the value of the piano before the plate broke. Thus if
> this instrument was an old, neglected, no-name junker, it's value before
> the plate broke might have been minimal at best--say $100, or so. At the
> saame time, the owner by be suing for $5000! You might want to try to es-
> tablish the owner's cost basis for this piano. How much did he pay for it,
> or did he, perhaps, get it for free? Also, in court I would ask him to
> produce a service record for the piano, showing what kind of regular care
> and maintenance it has received while he's owned it. Once again, these are
> all things best discussed with a lawyer, and the sooner, the better. Good
> luck to you and your friend! I can imagine how he felt when he heard the
> plate let go. :(((((((((((((((((
>
> Les Smith
> lessmith@buffnet.net
>
> On Tue, 1 Apr 1997, Marcel Carey wrote:
>
> > Dear List & All
> >
> > A friend of mine who doesn't have access to this list is presently being
> > sued for a plate that broke after he attempted to tune a piano.
> > As he was checking about the condition of the strings by raising a few (not
> > even to pitch mind you), he broke 3 strings. So he told the owner he would
> > not tune the piano since the strings were too rusty. He replaced the strings
> > and left the piano as it was. He was almost out of the door when he heard
> > "THE NOISE". Now he is asking me to testify as to the plate probably was
> > faulty to begin with. I wasn't there so I have no evidence. I suspect he is
> > wright but I don't know how to go about this. I would like to help him and
> > was wandering if any of you had had that kind of situation before. If yes,
> > what kind of argument did you use in court, and, were they winning arguments.
> >
> > Thank's in advance for your input.
> >
> > Marcel Carey, RPT
> >
> >
>
>
>
ilvey, RPT
Pacifica, CA