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For me, the most heartbreaking aspect of this story is the sheer amount of time and effort that had to be squandered. You could probably have designed an app,

For me, the most heartbreaking aspect of this story is the sheer amount of time and effort that had to be squandered. You could probably have designed an app, coded a site, or written a small novel with that time.

darepublic 9y ago
That code could have in turn saved other people from menial tasks. Enriching the lives of billions.
- startupdiscuss 9y ago
  The natural conclusion is that someone should write a piece of code to manage evidence and file small claims suits in various municipalities. Surely no one would ever abuse such a tool.
foobarbazetc 9y ago
Yeah, or you could get your $4000 back...
- startupdiscuss 9y ago
  I'm just saying what a waste of time just because of this one strange random event. I am not saying it was (or was not) worth it.
  - foobarbazetc 9y ago
    Sure, but you can't always optimize your life for 100% operational productivity/efficiency. Sometimes it really is the principle of the thing. Also it's good to have this data point out there for people to see how Uber operates behind the scenes.
mchanson 9y ago
Sure, but there is principle involved here which makes it worth the time invested. The driver who stole the backpack full of gear should not be in a position of trust with other people's belongings. Following the thread to make yourself whole and also hopefully to have some repercussion for the thief is worth while.
danielvinson 9y ago
IANAL, but he should have revised his damages for the second case to account for his expenses, including time. He probably could have won closer to $6000 without a problem. The author comes off as deeply uninformed about how legal proceedings in the U.S. work, for example talking about how he had to refute arguments in court and such, which is just not how things work at all at that level. Some basic Googleing would have taught him all he needed to know about defending himself in small claims court without stress.
- erroneousfunk 9y ago
  You can't usually get your own time costs back. Even suing for real actual legal fees (that you can document, such as payments to lawyers) is tricky and usually demands that an existing contract is in place to enforce this, or that the suit is frivolous, and a judge has to rule on the frivolity. You can't just go to small claims court and say "I make $50/hr, and I've spent 20 hours on this, so I also demand an extra $1000"
  - danielvinson 9y ago
    This heavily depends on the judge, which court, and where. All of my cases which have been heard by a court I've been awarded money for my time.
rustid 9y ago
It was a lot of time but for me it was the principle. I didn't want the company to get away with scummy antics like that.

darepublic 9y ago

That code could have in turn saved other people from menial tasks. Enriching the lives of billions.

startupdiscuss 9y ago
The natural conclusion is that someone should write a piece of code to manage evidence and file small claims suits in various municipalities. Surely no one would ever abuse such a tool.

foobarbazetc 9y ago

Yeah, or you could get your $4000 back...

startupdiscuss 9y ago
I'm just saying what a waste of time just because of this one strange random event. I am not saying it was (or was not) worth it.
- foobarbazetc 9y ago
  Sure, but you can't always optimize your life for 100% operational productivity/efficiency. Sometimes it really is the principle of the thing. Also it's good to have this data point out there for people to see how Uber operates behind the scenes.

mchanson 9y ago

Sure, but there is principle involved here which makes it worth the time invested. The driver who stole the backpack full of gear should not be in a position of trust with other people's belongings. Following the thread to make yourself whole and also hopefully to have some repercussion for the thief is worth while.

danielvinson 9y ago

IANAL, but he should have revised his damages for the second case to account for his expenses, including time. He probably could have won closer to $6000 without a problem. The author comes off as deeply uninformed about how legal proceedings in the U.S. work, for example talking about how he had to refute arguments in court and such, which is just not how things work at all at that level. Some basic Googleing would have taught him all he needed to know about defending himself in small claims court without stress.

erroneousfunk 9y ago
You can't usually get your own time costs back. Even suing for real actual legal fees (that you can document, such as payments to lawyers) is tricky and usually demands that an existing contract is in place to enforce this, or that the suit is frivolous, and a judge has to rule on the frivolity. You can't just go to small claims court and say "I make $50/hr, and I've spent 20 hours on this, so I also demand an extra $1000"
- danielvinson 9y ago
  This heavily depends on the judge, which court, and where. All of my cases which have been heard by a court I've been awarded money for my time.

rustid 9y ago

It was a lot of time but for me it was the principle. I didn't want the company to get away with scummy antics like that.