Jackson Jambalaya

Sounds like a fraud case for the DA and/or the AG.

“ Customers tried to get refunds through their credit card companies but Generator Technologies sued them in bankruptcy court, claiming the refunds would put it out of business. ”

Sounds like it would be a good thing if they were put out of business, hopefully the judge sees it that way quickly so everyone gets their money back.

Ms. Netz is an attorney. She has been very patient but the hammer could soon drop. I know the owner of Generator Technologies. He is a nice guy, but the supply chain issue started the chain of events that led to this mess. He was painted into a corner. Mine was installed by him before the China virus without any issues. Regardless, you can't take a large deposit and then not deliver. The deposit should be returned on demand.

In this case, Costco needs to accept some responsibility. I was in there yesterday and at the exit there is still a Generac generator sign advertising their services, and their vendor is Generator Technologies.

10:13, no he wasn't painted into a corner. Take a small deposit, not half, and put it in a separate account other than you operating account. Don't spend deposit money until their generator is in your possession and final invoice is paid. It is simple accounting. They are trying to play the poor pitiful business owner when they are spending money they cant return to customers when there is no product. I bet they don't pay Generac 50% upon ordering the generator. They ran out of money and used customer deposits as operating funds. You can't do that.

I don't know anything about Generator Technologies or their business practices. I do know that it's a tough business to be in right now. Lead times on large generators are in the 12-18 month range even if you pay up front due to supply chain issues. An unexpected danger of those long lead times, besides the obvious inconvenience, is that prices on components, freight, etc. are going up so dramatically that a unit sold today at a good profit margin could ship out the door to the customer 12-18 months later that actually loses money for the manufacturer. A number of manufacturers have had to force price increases on those already sold units or cancel the orders outright.

Serious consideration by all should be given to Miss. Code. Ann. 97-23-103. Does one escape the criminal penalty imposed upon Mr. Fix It by filing for bankruptcy protection?

Someone needs to ask the DA and the AG to read Miss. Code Ann. 97-23-103.

@10:41 AM - 10:13 AM here --- I should have penned "he painted himself into a corner" with his customer deposit business practices. I agree, deposits shouldn't be put in with operating funds; they need to be held in trust and not touched except for the generator purchase. The owner is a good electrician but maybe a terrible businessman.

I don't know anything about Generator Technologies or their business practices ...

Suffice to say the owners of Generator Technologies don't know anything either about sound business practices.

This is not about being a nice guy. Bottom line: he was robbing peter to pay paul.

Just wasting your money anyway once the fuel runs out because our government an idiot

@1:16
These aren’t the Harbor Freight gasoline generators you use. These are Kohler and Generac standby gensets that run on LPG or natural gas. They aren’t subject to the same supply chain disruptions as gasoline because the LNG we use is coming out of the ground here locally.. Though the cost of LPG and LNG are both rising.

At some point I expect the bankruptcy judge to be given the opportunity to decide whether these deposits made by would-be purchasers constitute funds held in a constructive trust such that the funds are not assets of the bankruptcy estate. That's the argument that I would make if I were a depositor.

@1:16 PM - That's your government, not mine. You likely voted for Joe Xiden, right?

Ms. Netz is a Jackson attorney, so after almost a year one would think that she could do more to help her aggrieved parents than going to "3 on your side." Maybe she is trying to "generate" some support? Sympathy?

If Ms Netz builds up a class base of enough clients with same beef against Costco and Generator installer, she gets more leverage, bigger fee and can force Costco to settle?

If Costco is still promoting a bankrupt vendor, Costco should be forced to repay every customer that ordered through their sales channel.

Thanks, 2:04. I'm not a bankruptcy attorney, but that seems to me to be a great point.

4:32, I've read your comments over numerous posts, and you seems to put time and thought into them. So, I'll extend you the same courtesy and try to answer your question, which has a lot going on in it.

1. Mississippi does not have a class-action rule of civil procedure. That said, the plaintiffs would probably have to litigate in federal court anyway because

2. they could not sue the in-state defendant installer due the automatic stay in bankruptcy court,

3. which would give rise to federal diversity jurisdiction because of the complete diversity of citizenship between the plaintiffs and the big-box retailers/manufacturer, assuming the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000.

4. The plaintiffs' claims could possibly be litigated together in a single action, irrespective of a class action rule, assuming all claims arose in the same federal district. (There may be a fight over severance of the claims, depending on the facts vis-a-vis the different retailer-defendants).

5. The attorney fee would likely be a separate, standard contingency contract with each plaintiff. Assuming this would not be multi-district litigation, the fee/percentage of recovery would be the same, though the attorney(s) would obviously make more money with more clients.

6. Corporate defendants don't settle cases because they are afraid of being sued, unless they know they face real liability, that can be proven at trial,

7. Which in this putative case could possibly be based on imposing vicarious liability on the big-box retailers/manufacturer for the actions/inactions of the installer through theory of apparent agency. After all, the act of delivering a usable product was only possible through the installer, which was dictated by Generac, acting through the retailers.

8. Because agency is generally an issue of fact for trial, the plaintiffs would probably have to complete discovery and survive a motion for summary judgment before they could even think about forcing a settlement.

9. It would take a lot of work, and a lot of time, but the possibility of punitive damages with attorney fees on top could make these cases attractive, especially if one could sign up a number of them.

10. On the other hand, maybe Generac, Costco, Academy, Lowe's, etc., will wake up tomorrow and decide to do right by their customers, even if it costs them a few pennies on the dollar. Stranger things have happened.

11. Last but not least, plaintiffs' lawyers can tend to be idealistic, and this fact pattern certainly has the moral outrage factor.

12. Bottom line: I'd probably take these cases, with my eyes wide open and no illusions of quick and easy money.

Ms Netz left the Jackson area a few years ago. She lives in Texas.

@6:38am - She’s a smart woman then. Get out of this sinking shithole.

2:20…. I wrote in for Rand Paul and my point is the current administration is going to kill us all.