LTYM - What's Fair?

Letters to a Young Manager

What's Fair?, #601
LTYM >

Please note that this letter is in-process; the following are my notes

Dear Sophie,

***

I remember going to a small claims court. I was having an end-of-lease disagreement with BMW corporate. It was for payment for some after-market items left installed in the car for which I was not compensated. I was withholding my final lease payment until this was settled. My lawyer advised me file it at a small claims court where you don't need to have a lawyer, you just go in and present the documents of your case. And I remember the judge, after hearing my side and hearing BMW's lawyer's side, said he needed to play "Solomon" on this one. The BMW attorney made the mistake of chiming in that the property items really had no value since the car was sold at auction. The judge indicated he was not going to just simply dismiss the case, and that he was disposed to grant me a credit, but needed to determine the amount. He said his judgment would be completed in a few weeks.

And the judge was indicating they needed to consider what was a fair amount.

And I think I was only looking for a refund of the cost of whatever it was and I was not arguing for damages or anything like that.

I was awarded 2/3's of the equipment value and instructed to pay the balance due on the lease. It was a fair settlement.

***

Sincerely yours,
Ed

________________________

References...

Takeaways:

As in an negotiation, what's often fair is in between where the two parties start

Discussion Questions:

For Further Reading: