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#482 (s5767-21 / 26 Shevat 5767) A Moving Story "Dear Ascent: The story behind my court case reads like one of your stories. If you'd like to have it, let me know." A
Moving Story>> From: David First >Dear David, >Dear David, From:
David First IN APRIL, 2003, just after the Passover holidays, I hired a local moving company to help me move into my new home in. I chose the company because the bank I worked for had a policy of trying to use local businesses to promote better relations within the community. I had asked for a large truck with a lift on the back and three men. Instead of this arrangement, the owner of the company showed up with a trailer and one other man. I had explained how I was pressed for time and was recently diagnosed as disabled due to a very rare spinal disorder called a syrinx. It was a mess. The owner, Mike, offered to reduce his price and wanted to do the business. Being pressed for time, I agreed. It ended up taking twice as long to move as originally estimated due to the smaller trailer. At the end of the day, the mover suddenly doubled his price. When I offered a check with the original price and refused to pay his new inflated price, he grabbed my TV and ran out the door. He returned a few minutes later and started to grab two chairs. I was on the phone with 911. I took a step towards Mike, asking him to put the chairs down and bring my TV back. The phone cord suddenly snapped out of the phone, disconnecting me from 911. The man saw I was not on the phone anymore and swung around and hit me with the chairs. He then stabbed me with the chair legs. I was able to put my hands on the chair legs and pushed the man off me. He hit a wall behind him with great force. I then told him if he didn't stop, horrible things would happen to him including death. I was trained in Karate for over 30 years. He replied he would hurt me instead and tried to hit me again with the chairs but instead lost control and one of the chairs flew across the room and hit a painting. I realized the man was out of control and crazy. I prepared to defend myself with the utmost of force when he suddenly got this look of great fear and death in his face, dropped the other chair and ran out of the house, yelling he was about to die. The police arrived and I reported everything to them. An hour later, another officer arrived to arrest me for hitting the man with the chairs and trying to kill him. I was stunned. I explained the situation. The officer got my TV back but warned me I could be arrested if the man so chose. I couldn't believe it. Because Torah commands that we pay people we hire their promised wages, regardless of how we like or don't like the person, my wife and I decided to offer to pay him the minimal amount originally offered. I had offered the money at the end of the working day, before his attack, and felt he had done a day's work. This new offer to pay him was made just a couple of weeks after the move, so we felt it was in a timely manner as Torah asks. He accepted the money. I had kept the laws of Torah, even though I didn't want too, and thought the matter concluded. Eight months later, we get a notice that Mike the mover was suing us for damages from "striking him with the chairs". He had medical documents, witnesses and the police reports, and was extremely convincing that he was now disabled for life due to my supposed violence. I couldn't believe it. I researched Mike's records at the courthouse and discovered he had made 28 (!) police reports against people in the past few years and was known for suing people and winning. In the few cases where he was sued, he never paid and harassed the people. I had called some of the people from the records and they said the same thing, he was a liar and so convincing. This was a nightmare. A short while later I got a letter in the mail that one of the courtroom TV shows wanted to put our case on television! We had to sign an agreement that we could never do anything to each other again. He wanted to go on TV so he accepted the stipulations, as did I. The day of the show, as every morning, I put on my tefilin. I asked in my prayers to have justice done, nothing more. When we got on the show, Mike just started lying about everything. He was so convincing it seemed I didn't have a chance. The judge barely let me talk; he kept cutting me off and wouldn't let me show proof of my side of the case. When the Judge asked why I paid the mover after such claims that I had made about the move, I said, "because the Torah commands me to do so." Then I tried to show evidence again to prove my case but the judge just shut me up. I felt it was going bad, like when the police officer arrived to arrest me eight months before. It seemed the nightmare was getting worse. Then the judge switched around and started looking at my counter suit. He asked if what I had written was true. I said, "Yes, your honor." He said, "OK" and granted my counter suit for $1800 in damages! He told Mike the mover he was lucky he wasn't in prison and what a liar he was. On top of it all, Mike had to sign a letter saying he will never
bother me again. Plus, because the TV show pays the damages, whereas no one else
had gotten a penny from Mike from other court cases he had lost, I was getting
paid in full. It may not be much, but my soul feels a million times greater. Thank you.
Yrachmiel Tilles is co-founder
and associate director of Ascent-of-Safed, and editor of Ascent Quarterly and
the AscentOfSafed.com and KabbalaOnline.org websites. He has hundreds of published
stories to his credit. |
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