Expensive legal lesson

The March 28 article (“An expensive lesson”) related the Kafkaesque legal woes of Spokane Valley resident Pat Lewis. After selling a boat “as is” and then refusing to settle (suggested by Gonzaga University law student Samuel Page, who clearly grasps this foundational legal maneuver) with the disgruntled buyer, the buyer sued him for fraud, aided by Gonzaga law students.

This is a great example of why we occasionally wonder if justice is blind, or at least way overdue for an eye exam.

Among other jurisprudential gems, Zag professor George Critchlow and legal intern Corey Reardon argued that a handwritten note from Lewis reading in part, “The boat was sold as is,” failed to qualify as a legal response because it was written before they filed suit.

Apparently “as is” makes more non-time-sensitive sense to Joe Citizen than it does to Lewis’ antagonists. Be that as it may, with precedence weighing in heavily in such legal matters, it may behoove us all to consider the possible consequences of contemplated future yard sales, where implied as-ism may founder on the stony shores of our legal system.

David Fietz

Springdale, Wash.