Well, to make a long story short, it was a success. I won the case and got awarded the initial purchase price plus the filing fees. I said I'm not looking to get any interest. I want to thank everyone who posted here for your support and encouragement.
Magistrate's decision was based on two facts:
- Prior knowledge of the uselessness of the tanks
- Deliberate false representation using the manufactured story about AZ
The "defense" brought the following arguments:
- Supposedly, "every basic scuba class" teaches one how to read and interpret all the possible markings
- The implied "as is" clause
- Allegedly, I couple of potential buyers reached out to him, and their first question was "are the tanks DOT approved"
But the magistrate wasn't having any of it. I'll post the official judgement verbiage once I receive it.
UPDATE: the hearing took about an hour I would say. Interestingly enough, there were a lot of people in the room being a part of about 50 different cases that the magistrate went through in the beginning. Either one of the parties, or their lawyers, or both parties. My case was the only one that went to hearing.
