Gunsmith DESTROYED 1911 Slide - Legal Opinions
- Thread starter johnlemon
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I'll let someone who knows more about 1911s answer that question. I have never owned one and if I provided advice it would be worth three/fifths of #### all. Good luck.
I hope you can take your gun shooting in the near future. I know how frustrating it is to have a gun waiting to be repaired. I waited 18 months and eventually got a full refund when the work was not done to my satisfaction. I fired a total of 5 rounds.
I hope you can take your gun shooting in the near future. I know how frustrating it is to have a gun waiting to be repaired. I waited 18 months and eventually got a full refund when the work was not done to my satisfaction. I fired a total of 5 rounds.
It is currently impossible to transfer handguns.
The $2,900 is a pseudo-admission of wrongdoing; they said they'd pay me that to waive my right to sue them. The money is for that purpose alone, and they said they'd still fix the handgun — or so they claim. It never happens, and they keep kicking the can down the road to the point that I'm not getting any younger and statutes of limitations are beginning to come into question. By all means, this is a situation I don't want to be in, but I have no choice but to either prosecute or effectively lose thousands of dollars.
My problem is that I still don't have my handgun, and honestly I have no idea how to remedy that on my own. Since this industry member is the person I would turn to for firearms-related gunsmithing issues, I'm likely going to incur far more costs and damages than they have acknowledged.
Joe Amorosi
CGN Regular
- Location
- Not Where I Thought I Was....
I would send it to Vulcan Gun Refinishing.
They have saved many 1911"s from the scrap pile
They can fix almost anything and have a considerable spare parts inventory
They have saved many 1911"s from the scrap pile
They can fix almost anything and have a considerable spare parts inventory
^^^^^
This
I see the $2900 as a basis for a start to negotiation only.
I would ask for $5000, and all the parts from the destroyed gun back, and once this is set, sign their release paper and turn the page.
Unfortunately "loss of enjoyment" isn't really going to be something you get to sue over. You sue for damages. So unless your sole profession is that of a professional shooter and that 1911 was the only way you were able to earn a living, you will have a very hard time getting a lawyer to take it on, let alone more than the costs incurred of shipping, replacement of parts etc.
It's ####ty, but It's not the end of the world, figure out how much it's going to cost to get a new slide assembly and have it fitted, then go from there.
Depending on what make it is, will determine how much it will be and how painful the process would be, $2900 could very well be a generous offer for say a norinco. Small claims would be a waste of time after paying filing fees, time off work, travel, etc, you'll be lucky to see more than the $2900 (probably less when you take those factors into account), unless you have some stupidly priced 5 figure 1911....
Considering the gun was around $250 new, and sold for around $400ish at the peak of panic buying, yeah $2900 is generous. A hyundai is still a hyundai, regardless if it's your own means of transport. Complete uppers/slide assemblies can be found at auction for usually no more than a few hundred (Americans can't buy Norinco stuff, so you are only bidding against those with magic waivers, and those folks generally don't care for them, sometimes people looking for spare parts), so for $2900, i'd take the money, get a new slide and a new rifle too.
They offered that ONLY for the waiver on my right to sue. That would still require them repairing the handgun and sending it back to me functioning.
You're arguing based on something way below the standard of existing Tort case law.
They've already acknowledged there are damages outside of the handgun its self, and I could examine those details here for you, but I don't think you'd agree or care.
- Location
- Saskatoon, SK
Get your firearm back first! Before starting any negotiation!
I understand your frustration, but at the same time I think you should stay reasonable with your demands.
They acknowledged their "fu*k up", and as I understand they try to make you whole, if this is even possible.
At the end you will have to work WITH them to get a satisfactory outcome.
As someone that has had to deal with this stuff before, I'm just trying to give you the reality of the situation. You're upset, rightfully so, but there was no damages to you, where you have experienced undue hardship. At the end of the day, you guys have to work together to make it whole.
Demanding ferrari money for your hyundai, will get you scolded in front of a justice and could make you liable for their costs if you catch one on a real bad day. They've admitted they made a mistake and are trying to make it right, you gotta be reasonable with what you are demanding. The frame is intact, which means you still have a gun, parts are still readily available and accessible to fix it.
Call around to different lawyers, it'll probably take a few calls before someone is willing to deal with it, and I bet the one that finally says yes, will want more than $2900 to look at your case. Take the $2900 and go shopping, don't turn a bad day into a much worse one.
Absolutely.
I’m trying to get my feelers out for what community members think about this situation.
I should reiterate: they outright refused to provide me with a timeline until July. We’re talking January 2023 to June 2025 before I finally demanded one—and by “demanded,” I mean I had to threaten to sue. Before that, the “gunsmith” would just suck his teeth and say something like, “things are really tough in the industry right now, I won’t promise a timeline because, well… you know how it is, right?” Except this has been going on for almost three years, while they’ve been finishing other projects. Not once have they contacted me back after I left messages. Every single interaction has been me forcing contact by calling repeatedly until I got through.
And I should add—I wasn’t blowing up their phone. At most, I’d call every 2–3 months for an update. I’ve been more than reasonable, and I’d say with 100% certainty they’ve taken advantage of my patience.
May be best to take the $2900 and find another smith to fix it up, as someone else mentioned Vulkan does great work but I believe he is shutting down shop soon (IIRC from a previous post).
Businesses are still able to take in handguns BTW, so that is possible. Also, you haven't mentioned what model of 1911? If it is a Norinco, the frames are good quality and the $2900 can be used to make it into a pretty sweet gun. If it is an original 1911, or something along those lines than I can really see how $2900 wouldn't do it. Best of luck with whatever you plan on doing, I hope it works out and you are able to enjoy your pistol!
Again, they've offered 2900 for the WAIVER. Their offer of that 2900 for my waiver INCLUDES them repairing and returning the handgun functioning.
The issue is that they keep extending this timeline and we are headed past 3 years very soon, you're missing the bigger picture. Its not about the price of the handgun or the model of the handgun.
... and don't think going to small claims or any court will help you.
All you get in a court is a judgement, NEVER Justice!
I would bet, that in small claims court, they will see the offer of $2900 as VERY generous.
PS don't get any lawyer involved, this will cost you more than an arm and a leg and will take years to get anywhere, while you pay the lawyer's bills.
Also you repeatedly mention "lack of enjoyment", this sounds like you want to get paid for pain and suffering, which hurts the seriousness of the case.
All you get in a court is a judgement, NEVER Justice!
I would bet, that in small claims court, they will see the offer of $2900 as VERY generous.
PS don't get any lawyer involved, this will cost you more than an arm and a leg and will take years to get anywhere, while you pay the lawyer's bills.
Also you repeatedly mention "lack of enjoyment", this sounds like you want to get paid for pain and suffering, which hurts the seriousness of the case.
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Honestly if this were me and one of my firearms, I would sign the waiver only under the stipulation that I can make any info regarding the process public and then post the full story with details/photos of everything just to help anyone in the future from possibly ending up in a headache with them. In my eyes anyone that is reputable in any industry shouldnt be dragging any sort of customer dissatisfaction out when its due to their negligence or mistake.
I do understand your thoughts on "loss of enjoyment" but when it comes to that I would only argue that if you were to crash into someones Corvette and they have to have it repaired they would only be able to get you for damages and not for any "loss of enjoyemnt" due to it not being usable in that time.
It is a long time to go through a drag out process with little to nothing to show for it yet so I hope things turn out well. If it were me Id take the hit and post it all for others caution and move on so it ends the stress and headaches.
I do understand your thoughts on "loss of enjoyment" but when it comes to that I would only argue that if you were to crash into someones Corvette and they have to have it repaired they would only be able to get you for damages and not for any "loss of enjoyemnt" due to it not being usable in that time.
It is a long time to go through a drag out process with little to nothing to show for it yet so I hope things turn out well. If it were me Id take the hit and post it all for others caution and move on so it ends the stress and headaches.
Get at least your lower back, and use the money to source the parts and labour to get it fixed elsewhere, and don't sign anything unless you can get them to commit to the same no lawsuit clauses for any reason whatsoever. If they are really promising you the $2900 and a fully fixed whole 1911, that's your best offer. Legal action on your part towards them is likely going to cost too much compared to losing your pistol (with no chance to get another given the transfer ban) and courts lack of familiarity and often hostility towards gun related property claims is going to end up with you spending more than $2900 and getting less than that in judgement.
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