Xbox Owner Sues Microsoft for $500 Billion (Yes, Billion)

[Jegsimmons]

heres the sad part...because our court system is ran by retards...he might have a fraction of a percentage of a possibility to win, in which case that could sink ALL of microsoft and ruin services for a billion people....which means, this guy might have to die.

Silly and stupid but


imagine if he were to win...

What would you DO with that amount of money?

Seriously I would buy 10 aircraft carriers and go take over Cuba or something.

id strangle him for takeing down xboxlive.

i'd love to see him win. it would be a victory for consumers who have to deal with this stupid bullshit. like how when you sign up for a website, if you don't manually terminate service it automatically recharges the membership fee to your card at the least efficient rate (instead of signing you up for a yearly pass it charges you monthly- that sort of thing)

half a trillion would sink microsoft and REMOVE the consumers services. not to mention put THOUSANDS out of a job, and probably millions if you consider outside partnerships and contractors.
we'd go in a depression....and by god would our descendants wonder how the hell that shit went down.

 

[Superior Mind]

He sounds like a dickhead law student who assumes as most law students do, (and I know because I was one,) that suddenly they know the ins and outs and all the little tricks in the law to get anything they want.

But they can't. No doubt this guy has pointed out little loopholes in the existing laws meaning he is technically able to do this but the law is not just written in black and white, it;s tempered with actual logic. No-one in their right mind would conclude that this dude has a valid case and if this ever found its way to court he'd probably be fined for bringing such a frivelous lawsuit to litigation.

Of course in America people sue a the drop of a hat, (it's likely that someone has sued someone else over a dropped hat,) so sometimes frivelous lawsuits actually succeed - but for $500b? Get real.

 

[Nurb]

Hell yes, the only way to get the companies to change their contract is to use their own lawyerese against them. He's in the right to demand it based on the contract, but he should have given them 30 days

 

[MonkeyPunch]

What I do like about this story is that it seems companies get to write and change their TOS agreements at their hearts content often leaving the end-user at a disadvantage and often without their knowledge.
Another thing I liked is the way he mailed it to just some "underling" in the company - one without any judicial knowledge... you know a little like your average end-user.

Shame he's going about it entirely the wrong way, but the concept is kind of nice.

 

[yuval152]

That guy is gonna get poop throwed at him for being a dumbass.

I hope that microsoft can sue him and take all his stuff.(no fanboy intended)

 

[Nurb]

He sounds like a dickhead law student who assumes as most law students do, (and I know because I was one,) that suddenly they know the ins and outs and all the little tricks in the law to get anything they want.

But they can't. No doubt this guy has pointed out little loopholes in the existing laws meaning he is technically able to do this but the law is not just written in black and white, it;s tempered with actual logic. No-one in their right mind would conclude that this dude has a valid case and if this ever found its way to court he'd probably be fined for bringing such a frivelous lawsuit to litigation.

Of course in America people sue a the drop of a hat, (it's likely that someone has sued someone else over a dropped hat,) so sometimes frivelous lawsuits actually succeed - but for $500b? Get real.

You missed the entire point of the lawsuit and probably didn't read the whole article, which was trying to stop allowing companies to write contracts where they unilaterally change terms, and he is using HIS rights within the contract to demand changes to make a point.

This isn't a "HURR DURR AMERICANS DERP DERP" issue, it's so customers don't have to put up with unfair contracts, so stuff your nationalism, mate

 

[LifeSentence]

Sounds like something [b/]I[/b] might do...

You certainly have the avatar for it.

 

[AGenericHero]

Half a trillion dollars?

There's no way Microsoft would take him seriously. Even then it sounds like a cheap way to make money. Off topic though, if you were given that kind of money, what would you do with it? Me, I'd probably buy off several gaming companies. Or live in several mansions. Or buy several towns.

 

[1337mokro]

You know if this was just an attempt to show people that the legal bullshit loopholes in contract companies use to escape all possible responsibility can also be used against them. I would have applauded it.

However it is not. This is a guy starved for attention and money. A typical American thinking he could strike it rich in court.

That one lawyer that sued Microsoft over the arbitrary points system that always left some money in your account (you know that 80 Microsoft points you CAN'T get rid off). Him I respect because those fucking points are a shitty scam to keep you spending.

We need more of those guys. Not this guy who sues for half of a small Nations annual budget.

 

[mcattack92]

What do these people smoke to come up with these insanely high damage amounts.

I studied business law last semester at uni and in cases where people failed to respond, were disregarded as there was no confirmation that the other party had even read any of the documents. The sheer amount of emails that Microsoft would get daily would in the thousands. You cant ensure that they would read every single one of them.

 

[Char-Nobyl]

You know, at first, I was writing a rather rage-y post, because of two main things. First and foremost, Stebbins was an incorrigible dick, and seemed so proud of himself for learning a few legal phrases that he didn't bother to remember such basic things as the fact that you can't alter a contract after you've agreed to follow it.

And, secondly, that Andy Chalk was apparently writing this post as he was reading the story. He actually seemed to admire what Stebbins was doing, up until around the point when he got to the later parts in the story where it became clear that Stebbins was, simply put, a dick. And rather than scrapping the story for a post on The Escapist and writing something worthwhile, Chalk kept writing, and concluded with the equivalent of, "Well, nevermind. I guess he was sort of being a dick."

But then I deleted that post, because I realized something: Microsoft hasn't replied (nor should they), and the guy deleted his Youtube account. Those two facts alone brought me comfort, and told me that everything is exactly as they should be. First and foremost, the Microsoft legal department is in stitches over how pathetic Stebbins' attempt to extort them was, and second, that he's not getting the universally-positive feedback he expected.

I Googled "David Stebbins Arkansas" just to be sure of my theory, and sure enough, there it was: front page coverage of his laughable attempt to extort Microsoft, all while going through his highlight reel of dickishness.

Here's why I'm so happy: he said in the original article that jobs "discriminated" against him for his Asperger's Syndrome. From that, we know that he's a naturally unlikable person. Well, good news: you just cut out the middle man. Now, any prospective employer of this jerkoff is just a Google search away from finding out what sort of person he is, complete with quotes from the man himself.

The best part? No employer even has to meet with him before they send him the "Thanks, but no thanks" reply for his job applications.

Splendid work, Mr. Stebbins. Your act of dickishness came packaged with its own retribution.

 

[Albino Boo]

So he's changed the contract and used that to screw microsoft over.

If he wins, he gets $500bn.

But what if he loses? The USA has the same common-law, precedent-based legal system that we do. That means that if he loses, a precedent will be set against changing contracts unilaterally to screw signatories.

That means that a precedent will be set which forbids large companies from unilaterally changing contracts, including TOS agreements, and using that to screw their customers.

He's not really out to make money, he's out to change laws!

It's a win-win situation! Brilliant!

Small but important point companies don't change the contract they cancel the old contract and offer a new contract, which you can accept or not. Not accepting of course leads to termination of service. Try reading the the xbox live terms of use:

13. How We May Change the Contract.

If we change this contract, then we will require you to agree to a new contract that includes such changes if you want to continue to receive the Service. If you do not want to agree to the new contract, you may cancel the Service. Your continued use of the Service will be deemed acceptance of and agreement to the new contract.


In other words the case is waste of time and will not change a damn thing. Fail troll is fail.

 

[RonHiler]

You can certainly tell which people actually read the article and which ones are just jumping to conclusions, eh?

Hint: If you think this guy is trying to win $500 billion, go back and read the article again.

 

[natster43]

Silly. I hope to hear more about this later.

 

[Happy Sock Puppet]

People say this guy is an idiot and/or a jerk, either of which may be true.

But...

Have you actually READ a cell phone company contract? I see his reasoning on wanting to 'stick it to the man'. Just sayin'.

 

[jyork89]

Is this even legal in the USA? I know that under English contract law silence can never amount to acceptance under the case Felthouse v Brindly, even if it is written into the terms (ie If you do not respond within 30 days we will assume take that for acceptance of our offer). Maybe I am missing some obscure point of American contract law?

 

[Revolutionary]

That poor guy doesn't have a snowballs chance in hell of winning that case, especially with his previous track record of litigation.

 

[Robert Ewing]

Good on him, well done for finding the clause. And good luck in exploiting it. With any luck, Microsoft will reform and blossom into a new, better company.

 

[jpoon]

Hilarious, but only if he actually pulls it off...I so hope he does, my god that'd be hilarious!

 

[Magikarp]

This is what we call 'being a dick'. I think there should be a law stating that anyone who exploits legal loopholes for their own gain at another's expense will be issued one punch in the face.