Student Seeks $1 Million For Missing Xbox

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
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Student Seeks $1 Million For Missing Xbox


A US Airways [http://www.yale.edu/] over an Xbox 360 console that went missing from his luggage last year.

In late December 2008, 21-year-old Jesse Maiman took a US Airways flight from Connecticut to the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, bringing along with him his Xbox 360 [http://www.xbox.com] console, packed away in his luggage. When he retrieved his bag, however, he noticed it felt unusually light, so he checked and discovered the console and its related components had gone missing.

He reported the theft to US Airways but claims the airline responded with nothing but "an unconscionable 'run-around'" that lasted for several weeks and involved five separate employees, each of whom he claimed proved "unresponsive" and behaved as though "this was an annoyance that they really hoped not to deal with." As a result, Maiman launched a suit against the company seeking $1700 for the loss of the console, which he described as having a "specialized hard drive" and components valued at over $1000, as well as "non-economic distress" of a minimum of $25,000 but "in the maximum amount allowable by law or, in the alternative, in the sum of $1,000,000."

"That thing was my DVD player," he said.

US Airways spokeswoman Valerie Wunder said she was unaware of the suit but noted that "federal loss limits" restrict the liability of airlines for lost luggage to a maximum of $3300 per bag. "Further, our publicly available baggage policies specifically exclude liability for electronics checked in luggage," she said.

Source: Joystiq [http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090311/NEWS01/903110328]


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DirkGently

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Oct 22, 2008
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Oh, wow. That's a lot of money for an Xbox. What happened to it being "What you lost + legal fees"? You can't claim pain and suffering because you didn't get a chance to play Halo or Left 4 Dead or because you couldn't watch House or 30 Rock on DVD.

The only reason I could see him adding up so much money was if he was a games developer and had lost the ability to play-test his games.
 

ssgt splatter

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Oct 8, 2008
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WOW! he's suing them for $1,000,000, ok i'd be a little upset if my XBOX 360 was stol...sorry, went missing but c'mon $1,000,000 that's pushing it.
 

GyroCaptain

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Jan 7, 2008
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It's time their "electronics can be stolen from luggage" policy gets put to the test. Granted, it's probably supposed to be a clause against damage from heat/cold, x-ray, and similar problems; I'm pretty sure damn sure theft is not an item they can disclaim and that the court will uphold that.

Not that he should get a million, but it's the principle of the thing and we need for the case law on this to be clear. Be fair, the airline isn't going to feel the sting for brazenly ignoring their liability with too much less. Full liability ($3000) + legal fees at a minimum.
 

sooperman

Partially Awesome at Things
Feb 11, 2009
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PWND.

Seriously get a new one, it's not gunna cost you a million bucks on Ebay or Craigslist. This guy is a noob at life.
 

bikeninja

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Oct 4, 2007
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Haha!
Okay, if my X-box went missing from a flight, I would certainly look into it, and try to get it back, and then sue if the airlines acted that way, but not for one million. Although if I could get away with it...
 

fix-the-spade

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Feb 25, 2008
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I hope he wins, maybe not a million bucks. But I hope they find the airline at fault given that someone within the airport stole his Xbox, got away with it, then the airline goes out of it's way not to help him and considers it annoying that he should have issue with that.
It'll also make a good test of the 'we can steal from you' clause in the baggage policy.

Maximum $3300 per bag? That wouldn't even cover a Macbook and Wacom...
 

gregatron08

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Dec 3, 2008
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And this is why whenever i take my photography gear on a flight i put it in my carry on and pray they dont weigh it lol
 

FarleShadow

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Oct 31, 2008
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He'll probably get the 3300 plus legal fees, but I'd be suing too if the airline basically kept stonewalling me because I want to make a claim after someone stole my equipment from my bag while it was in their care.
 

xitel

Assume That I Hate You.
Aug 13, 2008
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Am I the only one that questions why his Hard Drive is specialized enough to make the console's worth go from $300 to $1,700? I mean, how specialized do you have to be to get a hard drive worth $1,400!? Even factoring in the fact that he's probably suing for a couple games and controllers, and that they normally sue for a couple hundred dollars more, that's still an HDD worth several hundred dollars!

EDIT: Also, I want to point out that he's not asking for $1 million, he's asking for "a minimum of $25,000 but in the maximum amount allowable by law or, in the alternative, in the sum of $1,000,000." In other words, he's really asking for something in the middle of that. It's how these kinds of lawsuits work. You ask for a high maximum and the inevitable settlement will be higher.
 

johnman

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Oct 14, 2008
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"good news today, his x-box wa returned, the abd new is that it RroDed straihgt away due to the stresses of flight.
The airline get whats coming to them for being dicks, but not a million, thats just stupid american "i'll sue you!" culture
 

Kellerb

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Jan 20, 2009
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yay, abuse of customer satisfaction ^^

seriously, he should get a new one or something, but 1 million is just crazier than a 300ft tall donkey covered in chainsaws.
 

Anton P. Nym

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Sep 18, 2007
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All valuables go in carry-on, guys... with all due respect to baggage handlers, alas there's a lot of organised crime in airports and pilfering from checked luggage is among the lesser of their enterprises. I would never, ever check an Xbox or Wii or PS3 no matter how it's packed. (That was one reason I picked my ultramobile PC; a laptop the size of a paperback is easily put into the carry-on bag.)

$1 million is excessive, yes, but it's looking like the guy settled on the number because his clue-by-fours kept breaking in use when dealing with the airline so he's moving up a few notches in attention-getting lumber.

-- Steve
 

Spectre39

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Oct 6, 2008
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Sueing was the right thing to do. It was his property that was obviously stolen by airline employees with flexible morals. I also believe that he has the right to sue them for money that exceeds the price of the property here because of the way they refused to cooperate. However, liability maximum of $3300 + legal fees should be the only cost. One million hurts his credibility and leaves him with questionable motives. I do hope he wins though. I'm the paranoid type when it comes to strangers stealin' my loot, and this story scares me about airline security.
 

Sylocat

Sci-Fi & Shakespeare
Nov 13, 2007
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Ten to one the thing shows up on eBay. That's what happens to the stuff that airport security confiscates from you, you know.