Ohio Ping!
(the three of us), Flutters, Whenifhow, and LasVegasDave.
Posted on 06/09/2012 11:15:39 PM PDT by Impala64ssa
While some might consider towing, impounding and disposing of a 2002 Saturn to be an act of automotive mercy, one Ohio woman believes the damages and losses incurred when it happened to her are worth a whopping $500 Billion.
You read that right, Michelle Mathis believes the Columbus Department of Public Safety's Impound Unit owes her billions of dollars as a result of the way they treated her automotive Tupperware Saturn. According to court documents obtained by TheNewspaper.com Mathis is seeking $500 billion in compensatory damages and. oh why not, another $20 million in punitive damages.
The whole incident began when the Ohio woman was hospitalized after being involved in a car accident this past January. While in recovery at Ohio State University Medical Hospital her 2002 Saturn SC2 was towed and impounded. After leaving the hospital in early February Mathis was, for reasons not entirely clear, unable to recover her car from the Impound.
Mathis contends the city sold her car without notifying her and refused to provide information about the whereabouts of her car. The city claims the woman—who was receiving mail while in the hospital—chose to disregard the notices they sent her and did no wrong.
The woman believes the city was in violation of her constitutional rights "under the Fourth Amendment for improper search and seizure; under the Fourteenth Amendment for violation ofthe Equal Protection Clause; and under the Ninth Amendment for violation of her inalienable rights."
We don't doubt that having your car impounded and sold while you're in the hospital has to be a pretty terrible experience—even if it is a Saturn. Having said that seeking 500 billion dollars in damages for something like this is completely insane.
To perhaps only Mathis' surprise in a document released this past week federal magistrate Judge Elizabeth Deavers agreed, recommending the case is dismissed. We can only wait and see whether that recommendation is enough to officially end Michelle Mathis' multi-billion dollar quest for automotive justice.
A lot of who, what, when and where in this one, but, 500 Billion?
If she had a case, it went down the tubes after that amount.
Dangling modifier—journalists write like my college students. The car was in recovery at the hospital but the dang police towed it away and sold it. If it was in recovery, it was being recovered by her?? They plucked the recovered/recovering car out of her clammy little hands, I suppose.
Or was it in re-covery, that is, being re-covered? Interior (upholstery)? Exterior—they were giving it a new paint job at the hospital when the police towed it?
even if she deserve compensation, i would reject her law suit. A law suit is meant to get back what you justly lost. The woman is not after justice
Sounds reasonable. After all, that might have been Obama’s car.
If Obama had a car it would look just like that one.
She should have sued for 100K, And bought herself a nice E-Class Benz...
Sure, the amount is not even flirting with reality, but assuming that this is a case of the powers that be not having the sense God gave a grasshopper (Am I to believe her car issue couldn’t wait till she got out of the freaking hospital??? it was THAT important to local govt?) they should be fined heavily. Extremely heavily. Heavily to the point where voters say “You just cost us several million dollars because you had to harass a hospitalized woman into coughing up a couple hundred in cash?...No reelection for you. Recall perhaps but no reelection.”
I’ve seen people comment that people on FR are getting sue-happy. But the reality is that people won’t ‘change’ until things hurt. We got Obama because people were fat, happy and not wanting to make waves. Now, many will even abandon their beliefs wholesale to vote against him...because suddenly things hurt.
The lawsuit is the only tool left in many ways to reign in out of control govt. Expensive mistakes tend to clarify the mind.
There you go. A much better version than mine and true to the original, thanks!
Ask for $500 billion and give them 30 days to respond. If the city doesn’t respond within 30 days they lose by default. The reason for the big bucks is to force them to respond so you can move the case forward.
GREEN CAR!
Parking tickets, towing and impound yard fees are all part of a criminal racket
Musta been on hell of a car?
[ She should have sued for 100K, And bought herself a nice E-Class Benz... ]
Maybe she sued for 500 Billion so she could have a nice shiny new 2012-2013 Saturn....
However the only problem there is if that news hit DC the Dems would look up that number to see if it's real and if they could spend it. (not sarc)
Unfortunately, her chance of finding a new 2012 Saturn is worse than her winning her suite.
I’m guessing that means she’s black?
500 billion? Was it a Saturn V ?
But the car wasn’t totaled. Hmm.
Five years ago I was in a crash that totaled my ‘99 Chevy Cavalier.
I was beyond pissed;the young woman was in a big-ass hurry,violated my right-of-way at a green light,and plowed into my car.
She couldn’t have waited for me to go through.
As much as I adored that car it would not have been worth 500 billion had it been salvageable.
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