[Uncle Erik]

sachu, such is the joy of a judgment debtor exam.

I cannot speak for all jurisdictions, but many of them have a procedure where an attorney petitions the court for a judgment debtor exam. If the court grants it, a court order issues where the judgment debtor has to show up at a particular time and place to answer financial questions and is subpoenaed to bring financial documents.

The judgment debtor exam is given under oath - if you lie, it can be perjury. And a judgment debtor exam is not a fun experience. A lot of people settle before having to attend one just so they don't have to go through it.

Now, the really special part of a judgment debtor exam is that it is a result of a court order.

If you don't show up, that's usually a failure to appear. An attorney can then ask the court to issue a bench warrant.

In other words, you get arrested.

So, yeah, if you really want to put the screws to someone, a judgment debtor exam is the way.

I can't say if it would work like that in this case or even if it is possible or advisable. However, if someone shafted me....

 

[DavidMahler]

I want to clarify that my class action suit is from a different angle.
 
If Paypal chooses to support Mikhail after I've told them for several months to investigate him, and they choose to neither refund me nor shut down his business dealings then my class action suit is against Paypal not Mikhail.  I cannot find Mikhail.  But I think Paypal has been despicable to me and other buyers.

 

[XXII]

 
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If anyone knows where I can get a used or new PSU for my SP Square Wave XL balanced amp, please PM me.  
 
Mine died last Xmas, was replaced with a Sigma 22 in March which was used and had issues before I got it, and it died after a few weeks. I don't even know which pins on the back of my amp are what anymore (+12, -12, ground, etc).

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Here's a pic of the squarewave PSU with the pin outs. The 5v pin is not needed. You should be able to order one from somewhere. 
 
It's out of stock here:
https://www.mpja.com/prodinfo.asp?number=16166+PS

 

[XXII]

Quote:

I want to clarify that my class action suit is from a different angle.
 
If Paypal chooses to support Mikhail after I've told them for several months to investigate him, and they choose to neither refund me nor shut down his business dealings then my class action suit is against Paypal not Mikhail.  I cannot find Mikhail.  But I think Paypal has been despicable to me and other buyers.

Can't you file a (different) class action suit against Mikhail concurrently?

 

[DavidMahler]

Quote:

Can't you file a (different) class action suit against Mikhail concurrently?

I suppose so, but I don't think I can collect the same compensation twice.  
 
After I have collected enough people willing to work with me, I will be contacting an attorney.
 
So far though, I want to just say no one has contacted me.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Well, you'd be in for a real fight with PayPal. I'd assume eBay/PayPal has a big litigation firm at their disposal. Not to dissuade you, but I've seen complex litigation costs climb into six figures pretty quick. Seven figures by trial is not uncommon, either. Also, eBay/PayPal has a pretty strong interest in not being held liable for transactions, so you can expect a strong response.

Don't count on finding contingency work for this, either. It can easily consume the work of several attorneys and staff full time for two or three years. You can't expect people to work for free for a few years on something that may or may not pay off. Would you go into savings or debt for a few years on a roll of the dice? Asking around is free, though, so you might as well see if someone will take it.

Another factor might be the relationship you have with PayPal. The agreement might force you into arbitration or other undesirable positions.

Be sure you know what you're getting yourself into.

 

[DavidMahler]

Quote:

Well, you'd be in for a real fight with PayPal. I'd assume eBay/PayPal has a big litigation firm at their disposal. Not to dissuade you, but I've seen complex litigation costs climb into six figures pretty quick. Seven figures by trial is not uncommon, either. Also, eBay/PayPal has a pretty strong interest in not being held liable for transactions, so you can expect a strong response.

Don't count on finding contingency work for this, either. It can easily consume the work of several attorneys and staff full time for two or three years. You can't expect people to work for free for a few years on something that may or may not pay off. Would you go into savings or debt for a few years on a roll of the dice? Asking around is free, though, so you might as well see if someone will take it.

Another factor might be the relationship you have with PayPal. The agreement might force you into arbitration or other undesirable positions.

Be sure you know what you're getting yourself into.

Well you are certainly dissausive! haha...Erik, if I have lost $9000 and many many others have, and Mikhail can't pay or can't be found, what should one do in your opinion?  What is my best option to recoup anything?

 

[Uncle Erik]

I can't really give legal advice here. Going after PayPal might or might not be a good idea; you should get another opinion or two.

However, a good private investigator can find anyone. You don't know if Mikhail has assets sufficient to pay what he owes people. Maybe he does. I'd recommend finding out.

 

[DavidMahler]

Quote:

I can't really give legal advice here. Going after PayPal might or might not be a good idea; you should get another opinion or two.

However, a good private investigator can find anyone. You don't know if Mikhail has assets sufficient to pay what he owes people. Maybe he does. I'd recommend finding out.

Good advice, I will consider!
 
Would anyone be interested in helping me fund a private investigator to do such a thing? I don't know what they cost.  I'm assuming if the results were favorable to our situation, anyone involved would benefit from the findings
 
Again, thanks Erik!

 

[Skylab]

This is also NOT legal advice, but on the face of it for the layman, suing Paypal, which means suing EBay, seems like folly.  They're too big, and they probably didn't do enough wrong themselves to settle just to make it go away, it would seem to this non-lawyer.

 

[Frank I]

Is he in Colorado? Has anyone tried calling the State District Attorney and tried to file a complaint? In Colorado they arrested Mark "Shifty" Shifter who was running a raffle scam and taking peoples money without having the raffle. You may try that first and proceed with that before spending money on layers and investigators and see where it goes.

 

[XXII]

Quote:

Good advice, I will consider!
 
Would anyone be interested in helping me fund a private investigator to do such a thing? I don't know what they cost.  I'm assuming if the results were favorable to our situation, anyone involved would benefit from the findings
 
Again, thanks Erik!

You should consider asking the head-fi community for donations (of course with Jude's permission). Even though I didn't personally lose any money through the whole fiasco, I think the community as a whole lost something -- in a sense Mikhail has betrayed the entire community. I remember the feeling of betrayal I had when I saw Icarium's pictures of his amps "power supply". I'm sure many people here would like to see Mikhail get his comeuppance and also for the people cheated for him to get some measure of compensation.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

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Here's a pic of the squarewave PSU with the pin outs. The 5v pin is not needed. You should be able to order one from somewhere. 
 
It's out of stock here:
https://www.mpja.com/prodinfo.asp?number=16166+PS

Thanks, that gives me a starting place.  At least if i can find someone to fix the Sigma 22 we'll know which pins carry what signal.  I'd still be willing to buy a PSU (110v preferred or 220v if no other available) if someone has one to part with.

 

[spritzer]

I would personally start at the source instead of just buying a new PSU.  The amp design is seriously f-ed up to say the least 

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

I would personally start at the source instead of just buying a new PSU.  The amp design is seriously f-ed up to say the least 

I'm confused what you mean by source?  Anyways, I already replaced it with a better amp but I'd just like to get it up and running as a spare amp.  When wiatrob inspected it he said the amp was not defective, but found that the PSU was bad.  Hew blew a transformer when he was casing up the S22 and shorted it out, then after that it kept blowing mosfets.  I'd like to think it was the bad history the S22 had that makes it blow mosfets, and not a bad amp killing the PSU.
 
I'd like a new SS balanced amp to play with, and when money grow on trees I'd consider either the GS-X, Blossom or Headroom Ultra Balanced Desktop.  But I'd more likely get a KGSS or KGBH before I get one of those.