If you took your laptop in for repairs to a well-known big-box store only to discover the stores tech contractor had lost the machine, lied to you about it, manufactured fake documentation and finally offered you a "Were sorry" gift card -- youd be steamed.
Thats what allegedly happened to Raelyn Campbell of Washington, D.C. On her blog -- at bestbuybadbuyboycott.blogspot.com -- she tells a story of theft, lies, errors and cheapskate customer service. In fact, she was so mad that she filed a lawsuit. For $54 million.
Campbell says she brought her laptop into Best Buy in May 2007 for repair under a service contract. Shortly thereafter, she says, the computer was stolen. In June and July, Geek Squad -- which provides computer service under a contract with Best Buy -- told her the machine was "not in the system." On July 4, she says, a store employee created a false computer record to make it appear that the laptop had been processed for repair on that day. She said the machine was confirmed missing on August 9.
RIDICULOUS AMOUNT
What really appears to have gotten Campbells goat is that Best Buy at first ignored her and then offered what she considered insulting levels of compensation, ultimately amounting to $1,100 for the computer and a $500 gift card as an apology.
On her blog Campbell freely admits that $54 million is "a ridiculous sum of money." Its not just the cost of the computer ($1,100), the emotional distress of losing all her data or even the risk of identity theft. Campbell wants punitive damages.
Indeed, she identifies two motivations for such an "absurd" amount (her words): to persuade Best Buy to "reassess its ways" and to gain enough publicity to put widespread consumer pressure on the company.
Even so, "theres no way shell get $54 million," said Eric Goldman, director of the High-Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University.
PUNITIVE LIMITS
In BMW v. Gore, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that in evaluating punitive awards, courts should consider the degree of reprehensibility, the ratio of punitive to compensatory damages, and statutory sanctions for comparable misconduct. While the court eschewed hard ratios, it strongly cautioned in Gore and other cases that double-digit punitive damages would be unlikely to pass constitutional muster.
Based on actual damages of $1,000 for the lost laptop, Campbell is seeking punitive damages on the order of 540,000 to 1. While its impossible to predict what she might ultimately win in a trial, anything above the low five figures would appear to be suspect under Gore.
"This woman has decided this is a priority in her life beyond where most of us would prioritize it," Goldman said in a telephone interview. "We need people like that, who are willing to fight against the status quo, but sometimes the fight is so quixotic they cross the line from victim to victimizer. Shes probably at the edge of that line."
HEALTHY PROCESS
Ultimately, Campbell is engaged in a "healthy process," however. Shes "using the Internet to hold Best Buy accountable for its lousy customer service," he said. Thats not a new story. "Best Buy and Circuit City show up again and again on the consumer blogs; theyre notoriously bashed online for their customer service," Goldman said.
Since online campaigns by themselves havent changed the corporate behavior, Campbell is taking the campaign to the courts. "Thats healthy," Goldman said, even if the amount she is claiming strikes many people as offensive.
From a legal standpoint, what we dont know is what her contract with Best Buy said. It may limit the company to refunding her service fees, or possibly to compensate her for the lost machine. It may protect Best Buy from any other liability. If thats the case, Campbell may not even have a claim for tort damages, much less $54 million.
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