Mom rejects donated iPod, proceeding with lawsuit
By Cyrus Farivar 
posted August 31st 2006 5:27PM
posted August 31st 2006 5:27PM
Remember that 14-year-old girl who is suing her friend over a missing iPod? An anonymous kind soul took it upon herself to buy Shannon Derrik a new iPod Nano, a pink case and a $50 iTunes gift card -- but Melanie McCarthy, Derrik's mother, who filed the lawsuit on her daughter's behalf, is refusing the gift and is going ahead with the case. A package was dropped off for Shannon Derrik, the victim of this terrible, terrible situation, at the offices of The Naperville Sun, a suburban Chicago newspaper that has been closely following the case. The newspaper also reported that both Derrik, and Stephanie Eick, the girl who was entrusted with Derrik's iPod, were invited to appear on the Judge Mathis show, which is taped in Chicago. The respective families had initially accepted the offer, but then McCarthy came to her senses and realized that she'd be ridiculed publicly for putting her daughter through such absurdity. [Thanks, Ricardo G.]
Frivolous lawsuit.
But I disagree with embee that the daughter should be shunned at school. A child shouldn't be held accountable for the absurdity and malicious actions of the parent(s).
The mom brings a whole new meaning to uberbitch.
Just be thankful we are not in iraq, the poor girl who misplaced the ipod would probably be getting hanged for this.
Can I get that iPod? A theater employee stole my friend's sister's iPod which she bought like 2 weeks ago, and it looks like theres nothing we can do about it since there were no witnesses (even though there were no witnesses because the employee HID). Some people have no shame... If you're in Manhattan stay away from this theater:
AMC Loews E-Walk 13
247 W. 42nd St.
New York, NY 10036
I won't go so far as to name the employee, I'm just puting out a warning.
Ok firstly, what have you got against the little girl?
People suggesting she should be beaten and such.
It's the mother who refused the gift.
It's the mother who started the lawsuit.
If anything, beat the mother.
And you can hardly sue for the music on the iPod, as that is backed up on the computer.
How much is a random stream of 1's and 0's worth anyway?
Somebody please give smack her for me :)
If iPod wasn't in the headline title, this would get no press at all. It's utterly ridiculous. For example, if you watch Judge Mathis (a fine show btw), people are always stealing other people's stuff.. that's why these shows are here.
Give me a break... what's next... a Shark is reeled in by 16 lb test hooked to an iPod ??
The legal fees in this case are far more than the iPod is worth...even if this lady is trying to teach someone a lesson. She might as well light some money on fire while she's at it. She's wasting our tax dollars as well because a judge has to sit and listen to this crap. I hope a judge tosses this case and then slaps her in the face with the gavel for being a dumbass.
I live 15 miles south of Naperville and let me tell you, this is all b/s. According to yahoo news (sorry, link is old and therefore down), Naperville is 2nd on the list of best towns to live in America. Reason: everyone's frickin RICH there. Frankly, these people are complaining over spilled milk. If they can afford to live in Naperville, 300 dollars is probably that kid's weekly allowance.
I live in Wheaton. SOmeone tell me this girl's address, because im going to punch her mom in the face. I'm tired of stupid ass rich kids in this town. You lost your ipod? YOU'RE A MORON! DONT LEND IT OUT!
People should need a license to be a parent. It's bad enough women cant drive...but when they sue over a stupid ass IPOD? Die.
Andy Eick, thanks for the post. I was thinking that the mother was the total ass before I read your brother's comments. The jerk should be sued.
I blame this on the media. I'm sure a number of less fortunate individual's iPod's are "misplaced" every day, but said individuals aren't worth the media coverage.
On a different level, this is DAP discrimination! If a Creative Zen Vision:M was stolen there would be no media coverage, because the majority of the world still thinks there's a difference between an iPod and an mp3 player!
O, and "encrappen" is the word of the year, regardless of whether the guy is a lawyer, attorney, or a troller!!
first off, a litigious spirit encrappens the cleanest shannon's mom.
second, the Eicks owe an iPod, and if they really wanted to "keep the kids out of it" then they should have just ponied up the full replacement cost.
I don't really care about it either way, but I will be fragrently stealing th term 'encrappen' from embee, and using it at every opportunity. :)
This all seems silly, but I imagine to a 14-year-old who worked to purchase an iPod themselves it is pretty huge. An iPod Nano starts at $149, a 60GB iPod is around $399. Not saying she should turn down a free gift like that, but that's hardly equivalent compensation. The article didn't really mention how much she paid for hers, it just mentioned $475 in damages, so I'm not sure if that's a valid comparison.
I'd expect a friend would, out of respect and common courtesy, hold themselves accountable if something lent to them mysteriously disappeared. If a friend lent me something that I lost or altered negatively in any way, I would most certainly replace it or do something as a form of compensation. Isn't that just common sense? Heck, work it off over time if you can't pay for it up front. That's being responsible for your actions and I think anybody, let alone a friend would want to act that way. I really don't understand how anybody could act or feel any differently. Then again, if people are going to sue (and have to sue to get proper justice) over something as silly as this, then apparently there are plenty who don't feel that way.
A lawsuit might seem way over the top, however I'd imagine this started as a small claims issue and really they are painless. The costs are pretty small (I know it's only $30 in my locale without bringing lawyers into it). Really, it seems pretty clear cut. Either the judge believes the friend had posession of the iPod and failed to return it, or she doesn't.
I think the fact that this made news is what makes it all seem so ridiculous. Tons of these claims file through small claims everyday. It offers a very small scale to issue resolution without costing everyone a truckload of cash. Believe it or not, that's a main reason why small claims court exists in the first place. ;-)
First of all, this is just a small claims case right? Big deal. People sue each other for little crap like this all the time. Just because it's an iPod makes it news?
Secondly, she's certainly got every right to sue. If somebody borrowed your lawnmower and brought it back all broken, or gets it stolen, wouldn't you sue for damages? That's what small claims court is for. Now if she claims "mental distress", well then she's an idiot.
Lastly, If it were my daughter (I do have a teenager), I'd simply ram home the fact that she really screwed up and now she's got to take her lumps, and learn from her screw up.
Welcome to Fundyville USA. I live 10 min from Wheaton, there are churches every 1/2 a mile or so. I am not the least bit surprized by this. THis is what fear induced religion is all about, intolerance, ignorance, selfishness, hatred, etc. And Americans fear Athiests more than any other "religion". Only Good God fearing "gotta love that line" Christian Fundies or any religious fundy are capable of this kind of garbage. Meanwhile, so many people do not have enough to eat and this Fundy bitch is "teaching" her daughter this kind of crap.
Go fuck yourself you evil Fundy Bitch!!!!!!
The judge should throw this out of the court.
Her parents are worst for making such an issue of out a lost iPod, what is it she's expecting the court to say? Pay her $20,000? I hope her daughter goes out and do something stupid and her parents get sued in return. This is exactly one of the main problems in our society. Sue, sue and sue.
By refusing a replacement clearly indicate her intension. The only lesson they’re going to learn is to sue someone for losing a borrowed item. And this should be the first thing you should think of before you lend someone an item. My parent taught me “not to borrow something you can’t afford, and since you can afford it why borrow”
Pathetic being a parent without any form values or foundation to pass on….
Such people should be restrained at birth from being able to impregnate others or getting impregnated.
So sue me if you don't like my opinion here.
DR.FATAL
It seems odd to me that the girl would bring the ipod to school in the first place. Arent they fairly widely banned from school (or at least classrooms?). They do...afterall, pose a very similar issue as cellphones.
What the hell?
WHAT AHORRIBLE MOTHER!
I see a lot of ignorance here. A girl borrows an iPod and doesn't return it. The girl originally accepts responsibility, but her parents renig on this on behalf of their daughter. Any negotiations with these parents end with them hanging up on the McCarthys. This is exactly what small claims court is for. It's not like she's going after 'pain and suffering.'
If you borrow something you are exxpected to return it. Loaning is NOT giving.
Hey Sean,
Why don't you post your address. What kind of punk are you to threaten a woman. Better yet, maybe I'll send you mine. Come over whenever you feel like getting some sense knocked into you.
How come no one, other than rand, is reacting to Andy Eick's blog? I had to read it twice to check that it was written by the father not the 12 year old brother!
You are going to have your ass handed to you in court. You already admitted responsibility by offering $100. Now you are going to have to pay the whole whack plus fees. Dipsh#t.
Personally I would have taken the $100 as a certain amount of bad luck resulted in the loss. Nevertheless, the girl who lost it is 100% responsible.
This circus is no lesson for kids.
Also small claims courts are designed for these types of cases: small. I will sue the sh#t out of the DPT for wrongfully towing my car, and that is only $250. No lawyers involved though. And suing the government is always justifiable - it is the only way they'll learn.
I completely disagree with most of you. The lawsuit is the correct approach. Kids and students need to learn the laws of the land and that stealing is wrong.
My son had his $400 ipod video stolen during a high school class test. He was away from his desk for 4 minutes. Someone in the class must have seen what happened. But, 3 months later and still no ipod. If I could find out who took it, I would harass the student's parents until it is returned. If that doesn't work, I would definitely go to court.
This situation is exactly what the courts were intended for, if you know your legal history. These kinds of cases are what our legal system was founded on.
The Eichs only offered $100 after we had to file the suit. The suit cost us $140. We would have been open to a reasonable settlement. However, when we refused this offer, Mr. Eich threatedned to sue Melanie for $100,000 for harrasment and threatened to tie her up in court costs; alos poiting ou that he owns his own business and has plenty of money to litigate,
Oh and by the way "Dr.Fatal," we are only going after actual damages here, not $20k. The iPod was originally $200, she bought a case for $50 and the $140 for court fees. The $50 of tunes are registered to the individual iPod. The sight wont let the songs be downloaded to a different iPod; at least this is my understanding. I don't own an iPod (luckily) and don't know all the details of the music downloading.
1.I never had a lawyer, the Eick's have a whole law firm to haggle over this small suit.
2.Small claims was created just for this reason, to reasonably settle disagreements regarding small claims.
3.We live in Aurora, not Naperville.I am a single working mom who has paid taxes continuously for the last 24 years.
4.I am surprised that the Eick's are disappointed about not going on TV.They've had quite a few photo shoots with the Naperville Sun.
5.The Naperville Sun has slanted most of the stories.I told them I thought the donation was generous, but I feel the Eick's should be responsible for their actions.I told the paper to hold the Ipod until after court, and when we win we will accept the gift and donate all of the money to a local charity.
6.We didn't have a computer so Shannon downloaded the Itunes on a friend's computer.She has since moved and sold her computer.
7.Stephanie is now changing her story.I heard the original story from her on the phone with her mom also listening.This has gone from morally sad to plain old pathetic.
8.The only two compromises I was offered was to first be threatened and then $100.00 which didn't cover the cost of the suit I told them I was going to file 8 weeks before I actually did.
9.To the people who have called me horrible names and/or threatened physical harm to me, you are the example of why we have riots and wars.You prefer violence and anger instead of reasoning and justice.
This is hands-down, the STUPIDEST thing I’ve ever heard. The mother, Melanie McCarthy, passed raging BITCH mode – years ago… and went straight on to stupid, attention seeking wh_re. I don’t think there’s a word for how pointless this woman is.
I just don't understand how some of you people don't know what small claims court is, and what it is for.
This is not a waste of time, nor is it a frivolous lawsuit. Money/property was actually lost here. The child should be compensated.
It's as simple as this, you borrow something, you are responsible for it. You guys are surprised she is suing her "friend". But I would never screw a friend over like that if I borrowed something from them, and got it stolen on them. No real friend worth having would.
The comments I find funniest are the ones saying that the lawsuit should be dropped and the person should just pay. Well of course that's what SHOULD happen. But the reality is they aren't going to pay, and that's why the family is being taken to small claims court.
You also don't know that the school wasn't talked to, or whatever other steps were taken to avoid this situation.
Although the suit may be frivolous, lets take this particular angle at the case.
An iPod (and its content) is taken.
A replacement mysteriously shows up once the heat is on.
The perp gets away if the replacement is accepted.
The iPod may have a considerable amount of unrecoverable DRM fairplay content-- again it is like laptop theft, sometimes it is the content of the drive that has the real value.
Once it scales up to daytime TV, who knows what triggers are being pulled regarding the perp/victims notions of fairness.
[quote]Obviously Dispraiser has only heard the facts about the McDonald's coffee case from Jay Leno's monologue. It might not hurt to read up on the case before making uninformed statements about the legitimacy of
that case. Here is some good reading to start you off.
http://www.lectlaw.com/files/cur78.htm[/quote]
uhh, why would someone put a hot cup of coffee in between there knees and continue to try and pry off the cover? does she have one hand? maybe she never heard of patience? yes coffee is hot, do you want it to be cold? use your brain. people are being stupid on purpose, just to have a lawsuit nowdays.