Posted on 12/18/2020 3:17:30 PM PST by rickmichaels
A Michigan couple will have to pay a yet-to-be-determined amount after tossing out their son’s extensive porn collection. David Werking, 42, sued his parents — Beth and Paul Werking — for disposing of what a judge called “a trove of pornography and an array of sex toys.”
U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney, in Kalamazoo, granted the son’s request for summary judgment in his favor. The parties have until mid-February to file written submissions on damages.
The parents’ attorney, Anne Marie VanderBroek, said she is working to establish the value of the items that were disposed of but declined to comment about the case. David Werking contends damages are around US $25,000. His attorney, Miles Greengard, contends his client should receive treble damages (three times the actual or compensatory damages) permissible under his claim of conversion of property.
“We have asked the court for treble damages, which we believe are warranted given the wanton destruction of the property,” he said. He was pleased with the judge’s ruling.
The case wasn’t just about a man and his dirty mags. “This was a collection of often irreplaceable items and property,” Greengard said. His client had moved into his parents’ home in Western Michigan in late 2016 following a divorce. After he left for Muncie, Ind., he expected them to deliver his belongings. He later realized that a dozen boxes of pornographic films and magazines were missing. His father said in an email: “Frankly, David, I did you a big favor getting rid of all this stuff.”
The judge earlier rejected the parents’ request to dismiss the case.
“Getting to the heart of the coconut now, the legal issue before the court is whether Paul and Beth converted David’s pornography ‘to their own use,’” Maloney wrote earlier. He found that they did. The parents had kept some materials, described as the “worst of the worst,” in a safety deposit box, fearful it could be illegal.
Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department reviewed the materials and found no evidence of child pornography and no charges resulted.
Cut & Paste:
He lived at their Grand Haven home for 10 months after a divorce before moving to Muncie, Indiana.
Werking said boxes of films and magazines worth an estimated $29,000 were missing, including “Frisky Business” and “Big Bad Grannys.”
“Sounds like the parents needed a better lawyer.
And a better judge.”
How is that?
I agree.
Parents should have had the ex wife testify.
Yikes, I had a rental property w/ a set move in date. Renter moved a bunch of porn videos in prior to the occupancy date.
They were of handicapped people, and people with birth defects, amputations, etc. They were in a big black garbage bag.
I didn’t watch them. I had just heard of them from the creepy psychologist who was a co worker, and had given them to the renter (who was also my unit director/boss).
I threw them away, and when the renter noticed their absence, I said, “When did you put them there? Was it before the move in date? I thought it was stuff the previous occupant left, and was trash, so I put it out for the garbage pick up. Oh, well. You shouldn’t have started moving stuff in before the move in date.”
oh, and tell the new girlfriend or wife....I use porn all the time and it means more to me then marriage/family or God...
Daily Mail included a list of the tapes missing. This was a sick dude.
No child pornography. This guy was into grannys.
Also the emails between son and parents at link.
$25K for porn? He has heard of the Internet, hasn’t he?
Way I hear it: if your paying for porn, you’re not trying.
The guy’s occupation is deadbeat artist.
Per Daily Mail
But Werking kept detailed record of how much money he spent on the porn, most of which was from the 80s and 90s. He is now demanding triple that amount as punishment for ‘wanton destruction of property’.
In total, he listed more than 400 VHS tapes and 1,600 DVDs that he said they had thrown out.
The Werkings had told their son that he could not bring the pornography to their home and if they found it, it would be destroyed.
His father said in an email: ‘Frankly, David, I did you a big favor getting rid of all this stuff.’
“Parents should have had the ex wife testify.”
LOL. They already said they destroyed his property. Nothing more to add.
Some sex toys can be very expensive. A neighbor told me that.
He's so objectionable that his hand has sued him for sexual harassment.
Dad to Son: Not in my house. My house, my rules. See ya.
Dont discount the possibilty his life, such as it is, may still be far better than staying married.
I wouldn’t know. Mine is made of flesh-and-blood, and it has been pretty serviceable for 20 years. I doubt a plastic/electronic thingie could last that long.
(Husband saw me writing this, and had obvious questions: ‘And how old was the boy?” I told him 42. Husband asked, ‘And he’s still living with his parents?”)
Bravo
It was a joke.
However, team ex-wife.
No i got the joke :)
He still may think life is better solo. His hand cant take half his stuff and the house. :)
1) They gave him a place to live after his wife booted him. (Not hard to figure out why she did that)
2) He then moved out and abandoned the property, most of which they then discarded, except for some that they suspected of being evidence of a crime.
And their lawyer wasn’t able to put together a defense that would survive a MSJ.
Well, before the internet, and hispeed hig quality internet, people bought vcr tapes and dvds of movies. I do see people selling collections on craigslist as well. So if someone wants stuff on media, they can still get it that way.
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