Lawsuits: Broken Plate -Reply

[Les Smith]

Vince and List:

I think what one has to keep in mind here is that this case may wind
up being decided in a court-room. a place which, in recent years, it
seems that things like intelligence, logic and common snese play an
increasingly diminished role. The judge who decides this case may not
know the difference between a dinner plate and a piano plate, and worse,
he may not want to know! A very good lawyer whom I have been tuning for
for many years recently told me that the tendency in small claims court
decisions in recent years, is to seek to strike a "compromise solution"
between plantiffs and defendants. That is, if the plantiff is suing for
$2000,he may very well be awarded $1,000. Not necessarily in THIS case,
 but in enough cases that the defendant should be prepared for that
possibility. As others have suggested, trying to reach an out-of-court
settlement with the plantiff, assuming he can be reasoned with, is at
least worth an effort. Piano technicians should be able spending their
time working on pianos, not testifying in court-rooms. One thing good
that may come out of all this is the next time a technician on this list
is called out to tune an old piano, they hopefully will remember to in-
spect the plate FIRST, for signs of fractures, or previous trauma. It
all comes down to constantly remembering Newton Hunt's excellent ad-
vice: CYA!

Les Smith
lessmith@buffnet.net

On Thu, 3 Apr 1997, Vince Mrykalo wrote:

> >>> Don McCallion <don@mail2.nai.net> 04/02/97
> 08:32pm >>>
> >Simply saying
> >you think you know what the cause may have been
> >or you've heard of other
> >plates breaking for this reason or that reason is
> i>nsufficient evidence
> >because it is speculation.
>
> >Good luck to your friend.  Let's hope his exposure
> >is limited to cases
> >involving $2,000 pianos, not vintage Steinways.
>
>
> I am no lawyer, but it is *not* speculation as to how
> that plate broke!  Also, who cares whether it's a
> Steinway or a Winter spinet?  It's still not the
> technician's fault.
>
> Otherwise, sounds like good advice!
>
> Vince Mrykalo
> BYU
> "I've gone to look for myself.  If I should return
> before I get back, keep me here."
>
>