What are my options after a rod bearing failure

[Mikey]

Lmfao, bitching about me on the internet because of a 40% contingency on a case with $30k in actual damages that has a serious risk of little to no collection and requires almost everything to be drafted from scratch while you're publicizing everything. It's not like this some cookie cutter car accident where you just engage in "form litigation" and fill in a few blanks in a template. There's a damn good chance I do a lot of work and get a judgment against a guy that has half a pot to piss in.

There's about zero chance this case is worth my while at 40%, which is a pretty damn standard contingency fee for cookie cutter car accident cases, btw. I'm not the cheapest lawyer in town, nor do I have any desire to compete against someone charging 20% contingency on super speculative cases requiring subject matter expertise sending their clients on wild goose chases to get "loss of value letters." You certainly didn't have any questions about my competency and understanding when you were asking me question after question about the diagnosis.

Talking shit about how you didn't hire me because someone else will do it for half the price bothers me about as much as your boxing threats. I will literally make more flying/traveling to court for a client next month that I would in all likelihood. Finding some guy to do it cheaper is exactly what got you in this shit storm to begin with.

Now look, I hope this guy is some sort of phenomenal attorney who severely underprices himself and you make all your money back and then some, but believe me- I'm not going to lose a second of sleep for missing out on this case. I'll continue billing my clients who see the value in hiring me over the litany of attorneys who charge 1/2 my rate.

Now that's not how you originally portrayed this case to me at all. I had agreed to your price and was patiently waiting for the form to sign, but then you began ignoring me. The only response I received from you after agreeing to your price and waiting for the form was a comment on this thread. I left this thread alone while you continued to post passive-
aggressive comments. There was/is no threat, seeing that we are local to each other, a conversation in person is much more conducive to a solution than passive-aggressive comments on an internet thread


I have no desire to continue going back and forth on this thread, you have my number

[Aevus]

viperpartsdepot.com may have the OEM oil cooler in stock. They are the only ones that show it on their website. No one else seems to have it. I would also try JonB at Parts Rack but his website viperpartsrackamerica.com shows it as out of stock.

I discussed with three local mechanics and they all said that an oil cooler is NOT automatically uncleanable / just good for garbage, but it must be done properly (don't know the details) I assume ultrasonic + a thorough flush.

[Aevus]

(sorry to disturb the legal discussion with my oil cooler comment)

[Fulltilt]

I believe the Prefix 9L issues were lifter related. If I recall correctly, the part failed not an issue with installation. I have heard Nth Moto won't look at a car unless they build the car from scratch. That sucks but I can't say I blame them.

[Mikey]

I don’t understand the OP anymore. Why would you turn down genuine help. Especially someone who knows the car as well.

I didn't, I was ignored after accepting his fees.

[Lawineer]

Now that's not how you originally portrayed this case to me at all. I had agreed to your price and was patiently waiting for the form to sign, but then you began ignoring me.

I didn't? I didn't portray it as a case with questionable collectability and tell you I cannot guarantee there you'd be able to collect any judgment? I didn't do that, verbatim? In writing? You didn't come back and ask more questions about the terms right after you asked me to send an agreement and then you never responded? On top of the dozen other technical questions you asked me about the failure?

I left this thread alone while you continued to post passive-aggressive comments.

Yeah, you just made awkward lawyer jokes here that were directed at me and shit talked me on another forum.

There was/is no threat, seeing that we are local to each other, a conversation in person is much more conducive to a solution than passive-aggressive comments on an internet thread

I agree. Let's meet in person. $500/hr.








Dude, good luck. Hope it all works out and you come back talking about how much money you saved with that other lawyer and how much of an opportunist I am. Then it will be win-win. I'll make much more working on other cases and you'd have saved a bunch using the other lawyer.

[Mikey]

I didn't? I didn't portray it as a case with questionable collectability and tell you I cannot guarantee there you'd be able to collect any judgment? I didn't do that, verbatim? In writing? You didn't come back and ask more questions about the terms right after you asked me to send an agreement and then you never responded? On top of the dozen other technical questions you asked me about the failure?

Yeah, you just made awkward lawyer jokes here that were directed at me and shit talked me on another forum.


I agree. Let's meet in person. $500/hr.








Dude, good luck. Hope it all works out and you come back talking about how much money you saved with that other lawyer and how much of an opportunist I am. Then it will be win-win. I'll make much more working on other cases and you'd have saved a bunch using the other lawyer.

Me: 12:18pm "yeah, yeah send it over"
You: 12:27pm "contingency?"
Me" 12:34pm "yeah"
NOTHING


Then you began making comments on this thread

l I asked you at 6:52 pm if you thought you would be able to recoup enough after your fees.

You responded the next day at noon.


If my HILARIOUS joke offended you, notifying me that you would no longer take me as a client would be acceptable. If not, notifying me that you weren't fond of my comment would have netted a sincere apology.


And no, your original email did not entail questionable collectability, quite the opposite, actually

[Lawineer]

Listen dude- stop the bullshit.

I didn't, I was ignored after accepting his fees.

You told me to send over the contingency agreement.
Then, the same day, not too long later, you second guessed yourself and inquired more about the agreement. You were asking me if I would be able to obtain a specific recovery after contingency fees, ie guarantee a certain outcome, which is explicitly prohibited by the State Bar. I told you that I cannot guarantee and outcome, and that we could win, lose, draw or win and not recover anything at all. You were contemplating filing in small claims and I told you that if you think you can handle it on your own in small claims and save yourself legal fees, feel free to file in small claims on your own.

You never responded after that.

Those are the damn facts, and it's clear as day in writing.

I've done ABSOLUTELY nothing but help you, at absolutely no cost, whether it was "engine questions" or legal questions since the beginning of this shit show. You have a lot of audacity giving me shit for anything, especially untrue bullshit. If you don't like my rates, simply decline and move on. But don't go off making up stories about how you were ignored. The last text between us was sent by me.

[Mikey]

Listen dude- stop the bullshit.


You told me to send over the contingency agreement.
Then, the same day, not too long later, you second guessed yourself and inquired more about the agreement. You were asking me if I would be able to obtain a specific recovery after contingency fees, ie guarantee a certain outcome, which is explicitly prohibited by the State Bar. I told you that I cannot guarantee and outcome, and that we could win, lose, draw or win and not recover anything at all. You were contemplating filing in small claims and I told you that if you think you can handle it on your own in small claims and save yourself legal fees, feel free to file in small claims on your own.

You never responded after that.

Those are the damn facts, and it's clear as day in writing.

I've done ABSOLUTELY nothing but help you, at absolutely no cost, whether it was "engine questions" or legal questions since the beginning of this shit show. You have a lot of audacity giving me shit for anything, especially untrue bullshit. If you don't like my rates, simply decline and move on. But don't go off making up stories about how you were ignored. The last text between us was sent by me.

Screenshot_20230321_190846_Message+.jpg

Not too long after? I had asked AFTER you started posting on this thread AFTER ignoring me all day.

Screenshot_20230321_191154_Message+.jpg

[Lawineer]

Me: 12:18pm "yeah, yeah send it over"
You: 12:27pm "contingency?"
Me" 12:34pm "yeah"
NOTHING


Then you began making comments on this thread

l I asked you at 6:52 pm if you thought you would be able to recoup enough after your fees.

You responded the next day at noon.


If my HILARIOUS joke offended you, notifying me that you would know longer take me as a client would be acceptable. If not, notifying me that you weren't fond of my comment would have netted a sincere apology.


And no, your original email did not entail questionable collectability, quite the opposite, actually

What planet do you live on where I am obliged to respond to work texts immediately at 7pm. You sent me a work correspondence at dinner time and I responded the very next day. I have shit to do too, and my life doesn't revolve around your engine fiasco.

You asked me a zillion questions and I helped you out for weeks in this shit show. When lawyers were giving you their time and expertise for free, you seemed to like them plenty. When you hear their rates, you hop in the internet and start insulting them. I wasn't offended by your joke (I barely get it). My point is, you're completely full of shit in your version of events.

Screenshot_20230321_190846_Message+.jpg

Not too long after? I had asked AFTER you started posting on this thread AFTER ignoring me all day.

Cool. Very convenient how you left off my response after that. You know, the one that tells you to decide between hiring me or going on your own in small claims to avoid attorney's fees. The one, thank fucking God, you didn't respond to.

[Mikey]

What planet do you live on where I am obliged to respond to work texts immediately at 7pm. You sent me a work correspondence at dinner time and I responded the very next day. I have shit to do too, and my life doesn't revolve around your engine fiasco.

You asked me a zillion questions and I helped you out for weeks in this shit show. When lawyers were giving you their time and expertise for free, you seemed to like them plenty. When you hear their rates, you hop in the internet and start insulting them. I wasn't offended by your joke (I barely get it). My point is, you're completely full of shit in your version of events.




Cool. Very convenient how you left off my response after that. You know, the one that tells you to decide between hiring me or going on your own in small claims to avoid attorney's fees. The one you, thank fucking God, didn't respond to.

Looks like you didn't see the revised post

That text was sent immediately after you commented "ask your attorney".

[Lawineer]

Yeah, crazy. You sent me a text at 7pm and I responded the next morning.
I'm the asshole for not responding immediately to a 7pm work text. You didn't respond at all, lol! All you did was go make lawyer jokes at me.



Good luck in your case and God bless your lawyer. I'm going to dinner with stable clients.

[Mikey]

Yeah, crazy. You sent me a text at 7pm and I responded the next morning.
I'm the asshole for not responding immediately to a 7pm work text. You didn't respond at all, lol! All you did was go make lawyer jokes at me.



Good luck in your case and God bless your lawyer. I'm going to dinner with stable clients.

You were literally still making passive aggressive posts after I had text you. After that whole ordeal, yes I opted to go with attorney who had the same hourly rate but half the initial retainer.

Edit: disclosing your rate AFTER collecting evidence from me for several days also didn't sit well

Calling me crazy after I had disclosed to you my military related mental impairment is also not very professional

[Lawineer]

Edit: disclosing your rate AFTER collecting evidence from me for several days also didn't sit well

You mean the weeks I was helping you make sense of it to try to resolve your issue without having to pay an attorney? The countless calls/text messages and emails and how I reviewed all your invoices and contracts terms? Your trying to shit on me for not disclosing my hourly rates while I was helping you for free!?

You make it sound like I did all this work and then surprised you with my (very typical) rates and expected to be paid for all the time I spent. I didn't ask for a dime and you didn't so much as offer to buy me a beer you ungrateful ass.

I told you my rates after it became clear you needed a lawyer to get actively involved. If you didn't like them or wanted to go with a cheaper guy, the grown up thing to do is say "thanks for the help, I'm going with this guy who is cheaper."



JFC, I hope you get every single thing you deserve.

[ACRSNK]

This just got very strange.

[Snakebit10]

As The Viper Turns....This has turned into a soap opera. Didn't see this coming....

[13COBRA]

Holy shit, grab the popcorn.

We have an unstable military vet (self claimed) challenging people to boxing matches, continuously insulting an attorney, and being an overall tool bag.

You should sell the Viper and go back to a C6 Vette equipped with New Balance holders, a gold chain compartment and a years supply of jolts. Thank us later

[AAA96]

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[Docmartin]

Same, except Nth. Nothing against this builder- I just think Nth runs an impressive operation. I've gotten to the age/point where I am willing to pay more to avoid headaches (although, I haven't gotten better at not creating them for myself with my hobbies and cranking up boost in my daily driver, lol).

I don't think you can go wrong with Prefix, Nth, & Calvo. Haven't worked directly with Calvo but his team have always been responsive and helpful when I've called/emailed with little questions. They sent me a flywheel cover for free (except for shipping) when I first got the car. When I lost my transmission the man himself gave me a call to talk about the rebuild. I think Cordes deserve an honorable mention as well; love Toad's build. Then there are some OG's floating around like Donato and Sessions that do some work, too. For having such a limited car we have some great choices and it's well worth the extra cost for the piece of mind and quality.

Mikey - Man I'm rooting for you. It's a stressful situation to be in and about as bad as it gets. I had a problematic C6 turbo build back in the day and it caused me a ton of stress. From my perspective, I think the community just want to help and see you made whole again after seeing this situation unfold step by step. It's nice that you've provided updates along the way and some people can definitely learn lessons from your experience; however, it's not worth airing out your grievances with others in this thread. The additional stress isn't worth it nor is the damaging relationships you've built along the way. I know the Viper experience isn't what you were expecting it to be. Hopefully you can get this sorted out soon and then put this all behind you. Best of luck with your case.

[Voice of Reason]

Lawineer you’ve dodged a bullet on this one. I handle the books for my wife’s family law firm and it’s obvious he’s the worst kind of client.

One of my favorite comments above is he went with an attorney with the same rate but lower retainer. Lol, as if that retainer quote is somehow the max it will cost when this continues to go sideways.

[SK GT]

Good for you on standing your ground Lawineer. His post on CF is baffling.

[Lawineer]

Lawineer you’ve dodged a bullet on this one. I handle the books for my wife’s family law firm and it’s obvious he’s the worst kind of client.

One of my favorite comments above is he went with an attorney with the same rate but lower retainer. Lol, as if that retainer quote is somehow the max it will cost when this continues to go sideways.

Yeah, no kidding. Usually, a low retainer is just a low price to get you in the door. Prepay for 10 hours or 20 hours. If it takes more time, you pay more. If you it takes less time, you get it back. Rate and end cost is the same. Same mpg, same distance, smaller gas tank so it "costs less to fill up." Baffling he complains about my rate as being opportunistic and then hires someone for the same rate (who I'm assuming didn't help him for free for a while and doesn't have an engineering degree and doesn't know anything about engines and doesn't represent tuner shops).

I set mine at a reasonable amount to give clients a real idea of what they're in for. Otherwise, you keep asking to replenish and the clients get real annoyed.

I'm glad I have nothing to do with it anymore, but I'm pretty shocked anyone would pay hourly for a case like this. 40% of a $20k recovery (if any at all) is $8k. 16 hours of work. Unless you get really lucky and it settles quickly, it's hard to see how a client comes out ahead on contingency for something that isn't cookie-cutter and boiler plate. Shit, just the settlement calls, agreements, etc take an hour or two, and that's quick. Next thing you know, you're very quickly thousands deep into a case with $20k in actual damages and that's before we even get collecting.

But hey, everyone has their own risk tolerance and I guess you never really know.

[quickster2]

Shame how this thread developed. Many folks were trying to help and offered sincere suggestions. Regardless, hope the OP can get this sorted out without anymore undue damage. Lesson reaffirmed for me that I already passed on to my kids. One stop shopping (responsibility) is always the best even if it is not necessarily the easiest or least costly initially. Any high performance engine needs expertise to understand any nuances and to properly build & certify.

[ACRSNK]

I still hope Mikey can get this sorted. None of us would want to be in his shoes on this and this attorney situation is just plain bizarre. It just doesn't seem right on either end, but I still hope Mikey gets this figured out so he can move on and enjoy his car.

This place is starting to remind me of the Alley.

[Hawk]

This is getting interesting now!

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