Consumer

I had a former employee steal a company secret (or device I specifically made and invented) and is now making the product and using it to make personal profit. I had no contract prohibiting this with the employee. How can I protect this from continuing? Is there a law that employees cannot steal secret company information and designs for personal gain?

I purchased a new furnace for increased efficiency. The seller has a guarantee that 'if the system does not heat or cool your home to your satisfaction, we will remove it and return 100% of your investment'. They charged $7,000. They removed my older but working furnace and air conditioner to install the new equipment. The new equipment does not perform as expected. They are willing to 'honor' their guarantee; however, to them that means returning the $7000 and removing their equipment. Basically they say that their guarantee does not say they will return or reinstall my original furnace and air conditioner. I contend it is part of my 'investment'. They need to return my original equipment, in lieu of that leave their equipment. What is the law in this regard? It wasn't exactly a trade-in; however, a working furnace and air conditioner were a value I gave up in the course of this transaction.

Is there any legal action that can be taken against a personal seller of a used car if mechanical trouble occurs after the sale of the vehicle? I was the seller of this vehicle and actually put $3,200 into the vehicle prior to selling it to where according to my mechanic it could be sold in good conscious as a dependable vehicle. Now, several weeks after the sale of the vehicle the buyer is demanding financial assistance for a repair that was not an issue when I owned the car. He has threatened legal action, but I do not believe he has grounds for this. He has referenced lemon laws and UDAP laws, but: My understanding is that the lemon law is only applicable to dealers of new or used vehicles. Would Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices laws be applicable here? I am looking for grounds that support the sale of this vehicle and protect me from having to refund the purchase price of the car or contribute to the repair costs.

I recently had to take my car to a Nissan service center to have a smashed window replaced. To shorten this story, after waiting nearly 4 hours, I was told that the window was fixed and working properly. I then paid for the services and waited for my car to be delivered to the front of the center. After waiting a half hour, I inquired about my car. I was told that they took it for a test drive and found a weird noise in the window so they needed to investigate the cause. By this time, I was feeling very apprehensive about the work being done. I called a technician in my neighborhood, who suggested that it seemed weird that they would take it for a test drive. I was told by the Service Manager that my motor on the window was now bad and would need to be replaced for another $270.00. I had already paid $506.00 for the repairs. I called my technician again and he said that something didn't sound right about glass 'just falling in the motor', so I decided to not have anything more done to my car at the Service Center. My window was placed in the car inoperable before I left. My technician did a thorough diagnosis of the window and found lots of the shattered glass still left in the window (which the service center was suppose to clean thoroughly). He also showed me the cracked and damaged regulator which he believed was caused by the remnants of glass. I took photos of the damaged parts and the bag of glass that he took from my car. After talking with my technician, I called the Nissan Service Manager to see if we could work out a resolution. He told me there was nothing they could do, so I had no other recourse than to stop payment on my check.I followed up with a letter stating the problems that I encountered with the Center and sent a copy to both the Nissan Headquarters and Nissan Service Center. I just received a notice of their intention to file a suit in Fairfax County stating that they had performed the services and that I had stopped payment on their check.I don't believe that I should have to pay for repairs that were incomplete and caused additional damage to the window that I then had to pay for. The only real value I received from the Service Station was the replacement window, however they chipped it during their installation attempt. (I have photos of the damaged window). The legal notice I received from the Service Center has a required payment date of 4/10/09. I need to know how to proceed with this matter. I certainly don't feel that I should pay them anything since they caused more damage to my car.

What is the term for requiring a leasee to use certain providers of service or product as a condition of the property lease? Is such lease condition legal? This question arises from a boat lease for a lake slip where the lessor now requires the leasee to use specific(one of two) boat storage facilities also owned by the lessor for winter boat storage