Sue Happy, or "So what do I have to do to get some satisfaction here?"

[Tyger]

The WDP lawsuit got me thinking. If they're serving papers to paintball fields to make them stop selling SP gear, does this open doors for me?

I mean, let's take this further. My team plays in a tournament, paying $800 field fee and buying $500 in paint. We fail to make the finals becasue "Team X" wiped, and the referees wouldn't do anyhting about it. Can I sue "Team X", the field, the referees, and the individual player? No, wait, think about this. They casued my team a substantial financial loss by thier actions. $1100 in game fees, plus travel, hotel, food missed work... I could probably soak them for $3500 between 5-7 guys on my team, couldn't I?

If I go to a big game, and I don't have fun, can I sue the opponents, field staff, and so on? Well, if I'm guaranteed a "Good time", and they failed to meet my expectations, that's a breech of contract. My opponents may be a hard one to bite but...

Ooo! Ooo! And if I go to a celebrity big game, and I don't get to meet my boyhood idol.... (Oh, nevermind, I'm not going there....)



I guess what I'm getting to is that we can't just "forget it and play" anymore. Politics has finally reached a point that it's affecting my ability to play paintball on a local level. They're suing FIELDS for cryin' out loud for selling SP gear. So what, am I going to get sued if my show doesn't use "Leading Brand A" paint? How about if I wear my "Rase Chigo" pants in a show? Will I get sued for that too? (You know, I better not even joke about that...)

I'd really like to know what we, as players, would like to do about this? If the products I can buy are going to be dictated by "My lawyers can beat up your lawyers!", we'll be left with a lack of imagination in available products and no free market. Can you imagine Tom Kaye, for example, having to go through 5-6 levels of legal hoop-jumping to release a new version of the Tac-one body becasue it's "slightly similar" to somoene elses design? At that point, it's not worth it.

I propose that we do what we always should have done. Vote with the wallets. If a company is being jerks about something, stop buying from them. If they don't have our money to throw into lawsuits, they won't do it. Support companies like AGD (Who could have put a patent on POWER FEEDS, but didn't) who support the paintball community, and aren't just trying to soak the players and industry for money. And support the companies that are really trying to put some heart, sweat and support back into the game.

Ok, I'm done.

/me removes the soap box, tosses it into the bonfire, and walks away

-Tyger

[Richter]

TYGER WROTE:
paying $800 field fee and buying $500 in paint. We fail to make the finals becasue "Team X" wiped, and the referees wouldn't do anyhting about it. Can I sue "Team X", the field, the referees, and the individual player? No, wait, think about this. They casued my team a substantial financial loss by thier actions. $1100 in game fees, plus travel, hotel, food missed work... I could probably soak them for $3500 between 5-7 guys on my team, couldn't I?


I thought about this before (might look at some of my older posts) but the way tourney rules in paintball work; wiping is only a penalty not cheating;
Which I don't agree with. Proving biasness and negligence is really hard legally; or so I am told.

How about going a little further; people that endorse these tourneys could also be liable for turning a blind eye on deceit for so long.
Any sponsor is a contributer to the deceit. Also prizes/money is taken frauduently from you.

Maybe if there was a class action awhile ago; maybe our toureny scene would not be as infected with cheating. Because currently wiping is not cheating it's a penalty. Willful deceit and fraud by wiping is a peanlty! So really it's not fraud at all because the fraudent part of the game you willfully agree to play base on current rules!

oh well it is 2:36 in the morning i am going to bed.....

[edweird]

/rescues the burning husk that is Tygers soapbox and fills it with Smart Parts and WDP's Lawyers then returns it to its natural place of burning.


Heck yeah Tyger... I too have been pissed most the day about the invasion of suits in our humble sport here and I dont think we should take it anymore.

WDP has the right to be pissed about Smart Parts snagging HIGHLY coveted teams under sponsorship and thus negating a market share of paid walking talking, shooting add space. But to sue fields? WTF is up with this crap? If they do not justify why in the blue hell they sued feilds Im adding WDP to my boycott list as well.

I left Wisconsin nearly 10 years ago, but your still in "Gods Country" Tyger, would ya mind finding out wtf is with WDP sueing feilds?

[tonybhall]

I tought

Hey guys,

I have not read into this much but I thought the suit was against SP and several large distributers. Were the distributers also feilds?

It is not uncommon for a company to go after large distributors in cases like these because they usually have deep pockets. Also, they are in some ways helping to violate the patent by helping SP get their products to the market.

Tyger, you asked if you could sue tournaments and other teams and feilds because you were cheated or did not have a good time. Sure you can. You can sue anyone for any reason. I had an ex-girl friend sue me because she thought I should pay her credit card bill since she used it to buy me gifts while we were dating. It never made it to court. I could sue you for making this post. That does not mean that the judge will agree to hear the case. He may just throw it out. You also open yourself up to being sued for filing a frivolous law suit.

Sorry about the spelling. LOL

[tonybhall]

Hey guys,

Here is some interesting info I picked up from another thread here on AO. It was orig. posted by Lynx.

"I play for Stalker, and just got off the phone with Dianne. They did get served papers. It sounds like WDP is trying to get dealers to stop carrying/selling SP stuff. They may (Stalker) be able to get out off the suit if they sign off that they will not sell SP gear. Dianne will be looking in to it further.
They sell very little SP stuff anyway so I'm sure no locals will care. I find it ironic that Stalker is being named by WDP for selling SP, yet they sold very little SP and were huge supporters of AKA - a company that SP put out of the marker business.
I hope WDP realizes this and doesn't try to scare other small dealers by making an example of fields like Stalkers.

It sounds like WDP has a pretty strong case and intend to only go after SP. Dianne also talked to the guys at AKA. They made it sound like if WDP wins they (AKA) may be able to get back in the biz.

I for one, believe that SP will get what they deserve (Murphys Law).
Just don't step on the little guys."

Jesse

[edweird]

actually I heard it the other way... Smart Parts was allegedly pressureing local stores here in phoenix to stop carrying WDP markers as part of a dealership deal. I cannot offer proof of this but I will try and dig up more info about it as well.

[nato]

Right on Tyger. After hearing about this I thought that I would be happy but instead I felt like it was over. It doesn't feel right to get back into this whole legal thing again. Although I dont appreciate what sp did, I cannot say I want them killed off from paintball.


And if SP leaves 84% of my paintball jokes are then useless!!!

N.A.T.O.

[TheTramp]

/... But to sue fields? WTF is up with this crap? If they do not justify why in the blue hell they sued feilds Im adding WDP to my boycott list as well.

I left Wisconsin nearly 10 years ago, but your still in "Gods Country" Tyger, would ya mind finding out wtf is with WDP sueing feilds?

[Muzikman]

Ooo! Ooo! And if I go to a celebrity big game, and I don't get to meet my boyhood idol.... (Oh, nevermind, I'm not going there....)
-Tyger

hehehehehehehehe...ok...I can't stop...hehehehehehe

[Fade]

I agree with TheTramp on this part, but this is how I see it. WDP is targetting smaller businesses and fields that are local to the Smart Parts corperation, and main distributors of Smart Parts, because it puts Smart Parts in an a situation to act fast. If Smart Parts doesn't co-opperate in time, they will lose these local distributors of SP product, and will then have to deal with more problems.

That seems to be how I see what WDP is doing, If Smart Parts plays their cards right, this won't be as bad as so many people fear. On the other hand, if Smart Parts plays the waiting game, they will still have to deal with WDP and deal with distributors getting angry for not taking action. It looks to me that WDP is playing this very smart, and I'd hate to admit it, but it even looks like WDP has done this before?

[Bogey]

Legal stumbling blocks

As with everyone else here that has posted I am in a state of disapointment that our fun sport based on trust, not for those who wipe paint obviously, has turned into such a giant money maker that even the sharks, i.e. lawyers, have started pushing for their cut as well. I am the first to say that any entrepenuer who comes up with something is entitled to reap the benefits, but please don't take it so far. We are lucky that the sport was as pure for so long. I agree with the previous post that we all vote with our wallets. If you do not agree with a what a politician is doing you do not vote for him next time. If people do not agree with what SP is doing than let not buy their products. If WDP is trying to muscle SP by lowering prices and getting better products out to the retailers and fields then they will gain player support. If they are muscleing the fields then they are not putting their best public relations foot forward.

Bogey

[shivors]

[rumor] I heard Sherman Williams is sueing all paintball manufacturers for useing the word "paint" to describe their products. [/rumor]

Tired of all of this BS already.

[RenagadeOfFunk]

...I just want them to share...or at least pat. things before they wait 5 years to sue the tons of other compaines(which would sure as hell kill a lot of paintball things...)


....in other words...


some person would be rich as hell for making a car that runs off of gas if he pat. that...

...or phones that ring...

...or lightbulbs in the shape of spheres...

...or bottle caps....


...i say...give me a break!

[Lohman446]

I think the part about destroying or rendering useless parts in production was why WDP did this. I doubt they force the issue that hard against the fields but think about it this way.

If you were National, or Action Village, or some such - would you put out 10 or 20 grand on inventory you might have to destroy.. I think that SP sales just came to a screeching halt.

Now, as long as WDP plays gentle with teh fields (in the end, somehow) and does not go on a rampage this could be one of the great moments of paintball... WDP opens up part of its patent (not all) in exchange for SP declaring its patent public.

[Destructo6]

Keep in mind that it was Smart Parts that opened this Pandora's box and has been digging in it ever since.

Perhaps WDP is simply going after Smart Parts while their position is strong, rather than wait around for SP to do the same. A preemptive strike, if you will. By going after SP on their home turf, they force them to play their hand now.

If WDP were to back off after stopping SP's current legal actions, it would be a good thing. Time will tell.