Lost Laptop Prompts $54 Million Lawsuit

(CBS/AP)  Nearly six months after a judge threw out a $54 million lawsuit against a dry cleaners over a lost pair of pants, a District of Columbia woman is suing Best Buy Inc. for the same amount over a lost laptop.

In her lawsuit, 37-year-old Raelyn Campbell says she wants to draw attention to the consumer electronics retailer's consumer property and privacy-protection practices.

She tells The (Washington) Examiner she spent six months trying to get Best Buy to explain what happened to a computer that she took in for repairs.

It contained personal information and she contends the company violated D.C. law by failing to tell her about the exposure to identify theft.

Best Buy spokeswoman Nissa French says Campbell has already received $1,110 for the laptop and a $500 gift.

The $54 million lawsuit against the dry cleaners forced the establishment to close, even though no damages were awarded.

The South Korean immigrants who owned the shop cited a loss of revenue and the emotional strain of defending the lawsuit.

Soo Chung and her husband Jin Nam Chung spent more than two years in litigation after a former customer at Custom Cleaners alleged they had lost a pair of his pants, then sued for $67 million under the District of Columbia's strict consumer protection act.

Plaintiff Roy L. Pearson, a local administrative law judge, later lowered his demand to $54 million. He said the "Satisfaction Guaranteed" and "Same Day Service" signs that once hung in the shop were misleading and fraudulent.

The case went to trial in June and a D.C. Superior Court judge ruled in favor of the Chungs, awarding Pearson nothing. Pearson is appealing.

The Chungs spent more than $100,000 for the lawsuit, expenses which eventually were paid with help from fundraisers and donations.

[cyberp1]

I''m a MIS professional. Data loss is no excuse for monetary gain. Please people, make backups of all your data please. Always treat your computer as "disposable" and make it so you can recreate it on new equipment at will. Anything can happen and often does.

[cyberp1]

In General out of balance lawsuits (recovered cost vs actual realistic losses) have cost this country countless billions of dollars. You can say this specific time that company "A" will take the cost out of the "profits" but as a whole we the consumers still pay. It may not be right now but the company will fight to reclaim the loss in revenue (price raise if possible, cutback in jobs, operating costs etc). In the end we still all pay, period. The money has to come from somewhere. We have become a country were the "lawsuit lottery" is king and the corporations are the "badguys". It hurts our enconomy anytime these out of balance awards are won. I would not mind so much if the damages and claims were more equal. The sad fact is that if I went to a lawyer and said a corporation wronged me for 3000.00 (what the real dammage is here) dollar a laywer would laugh in my face and that is the sad problem. Until we stop the unbalanced damage claim practice will all pay and only the lawyers will get rich.

[birdseatcats]

The prices at retail stores are determined by competition. If they have to pay her for losing all of the information she had on her computer, not just the machine itself, it will come out of profits. They will only raise prices when competition allows it. That''s why Best Buy was able to drive so many smaller retailers out of business; they had to sell at the same price as Best Buy, and they ended up going broke.

[cyberp1]

Folks, you do realize right or wrong if she wins we will all pay for it. This money does not come out of thin air. We consumers always pay the price as these kinds of expenses are always passed to the consumers in big companies like this one. So she wins, and we all lose. So before you get behind her think about this, do you want hand her your own hard earned cash.

[Warehol]

Good for you.....maybe this will make corporate america wake up and stop taking advantage of the little people!

[bb19631]

Customer Service is not what it once was that''s for sure. But, sueing is not the answer. She''ll probably only get a replacement computer. Which is fair.

[wwudiver]

I hate corporate American and generally take great pride in them receiving a firm rogering. Though I have no doubt that best buy would hurt her if given the chance, this is plain, old-fashion extortion. A law intended for good, a legitimate good, is so easily twisted to absurdity. This is yet another example of why government is far to incompetent in its current form to pass valid legislation.

[memerider]

It''s time to end frivolous lawsuits that drive innocent humans out of business (the man with the pants undoubtedly used an eraser or 2 himself.

Human error occurs. They made good on this computer.

Of course, the BATFE is heavy-handed against ordinary citizens, first warning them further human errors will be considered "willful."

This sounds like the tables turning. Both situations need to be ended. People make mistakes and forget things. Get over it.

[bobnjersey]

i hope she wins ... the technology businsess is a scam ... and the alleged support of these products (that you often pay extra for) is a scam within a scam.

dell sells integrated systems (hardware running software) and when you call them w/ a software related issue ... they tell you to call microsoft. all the hardware is useless w/o the software ... and all the software is of no value w/o the hardware.

imagine buying a car and having to call all the makers of the parts for mitigating the issue ... goodyear for the tires ... bose for the radio ... bendix for the brakes ... etc.

[rhs648]

Years ago we brought a photograph to be used on the cover of a magazine we publish to a photolab for enlargement. The photolab lost the picture. Of course we were angry. We simply chose another photograph to use. No one told us that we could sue for 54 million dollars. We weren''t even offered any type of freeby or settlement. Did this lady have to wait six months for a new computer and a $500 gift or did it take six months to get an explanation of why the computer got lost? There is a difference.