Looking for Authoritative list of serials for 1990 NWC carts

[JasonOrlando]

Hello Everyone,

I know this is a long shot, but I am looking for an authoritative list of 1990 NWC Serial numbers and the finalist it was sent to, or anyone who might have knowledge of one. Names of anyone who might have been 'close' to the distribution of the cartridges after the 1990 finals would be extremely helpful. I have a strong feeling this list does not exist, but anything is possible (perhaps it will turn up if someone puts a bit of effort into searching?)

My gray cart was stolen from my dorm in the fall of 1994 by someone I considered a friend. This person was a non-finalist and still has my cartridge and refuses to return it. If anyone has any legal advice/help they can offer, it would also be appreciated. To my understanding there is no statute of limitations on stolen property, and until recently i didn't have the ability to disprove his story (of how he came to have a cartridge... )

[Bojay1997]

I'm not a New Jersey lawyer, but having dealt with similar situations in other states, I would simply file a civil lawsuit for conversion. In most states you can request return of the property as a remedy. Conversion doesn't require showing that a criminal act took place, just that someone who isn't the lawful owner of a piece of property is now in possession of it and that the lawful owner never authorized the transfer of the property. The tricky part is going to be proving that this guy has possession of the property and that you are the lawful owner. You should think about who you could call as a witness and how else you can prove the cartridge was yours. Just getting a list of winners with your name on it might be helpful, but it's probably not going to be sufficient proof, especially if this guy starts claiming you gave it to him or you paid him using it for some debt you owed him.

[JasonOrlando]

I'm not a New Jersey lawyer, but having dealt with similar situations in other states, I would simply file a civil lawsuit for conversion. In most states you can request return of the property as a remedy. Conversion doesn't require showing that a criminal act took place, just that someone who isn't the lawful owner of a piece of property is now in possession of it and that the lawful owner never authorized the transfer of the property. The tricky part is going to be proving that this guy has possession of the property and that you are the lawful owner. You should think about who you could call as a witness and how else you can prove the cartridge was yours. Just getting a list of winners with your name on it might be helpful, but it's probably not going to be sufficient proof, especially if this guy starts claiming you gave it to him or you paid him using it for some debt you owed him.

I have plenty of transcripts of him claiming it was someone's else's cartridge, that person has since been contacted and still has their cartridge. (he never counted on facebook showing up when he made up his story about how he got it). He knew 3 finalists... the other 2 guys have their carts accounted for -- one sold in 1999, the other guy still has his (got a video of this as confirmation this week).

It is now clear to me that:

• Mine is the only one unaccounted for
• He was present at the time it went missing
• His story is completely fraudulent

I've waited far to long to do this, as i didn't really want to believe a close friend could betray me in this way, but there is simply no explanation other than this.

Besides the transcripts (digital) in my possession, several people can attest that he also told them the story he told me in the transcripts (that he had David Lopez's cartridge). Since this story is now fully debunked I've decided to pursue recovery of the cartridge. I'm not quite sure how to get this started yet, I did call the cops today, but I haven't looked for legal representation yet. I'm not sure if the cops will need to do some kind of investigation first (though i'm sure they'll want to keep it as short as possible).

BTW, i'm in New Jersey, I have no clue where he lives these days.. I'm trusting the cops can locate him.

[wiggyx]

I believe there's a 5 year limit in NJ for theft with regards to a civil case. Someone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but that's my understanding of it. I think you may be boned, man

[JasonOrlando]

The location the theft occurred is one component... still wouldn't he still be in possession of stolen property in whatever state he is currently in? (last known to be AZ). Also there might be wierd rules for memorabilia.

[Bojay1997]

I believe there's a 5 year limit in NJ for theft with regards to a civil case. Someone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but that's my understanding of it. I think you may be boned, man

I think you're confusing two things. There is a statute of limitations for a criminal prosecution of various property crimes. I believe you are correct that in New Jersey it's five years. The statute will vary by state, but it will be where the alleged crime occurred and not where the defendant currently resides. There is no "statute of limitations" for stolen property and a victim can always pursue a civil action for conversion or similar torts. That's why you always see those stories about the car that was stolen 30+ years ago, etc...that gets returned to the original owner.

At this point, the police aren't going to do anything about this. They also aren't going to track down the defendant. The OP will have to hire a private investigator to do that. The rightful owner's only realistic course of action is to file a civil lawsuit. That might be tough, however, given that there is no real way to positively document that the cart in question is the OPs. No lawyer is going to take this on a contingency either since it's not a monetary damages case, it's someone wanting their property back. As such, the OP needs to find an experienced civil attorney and that's going to take probably a couple thousand just to get started. The lawyer can take a deposition of the defendant and propound discovery regarding the chain of title of the cartridge, but depending on state civil procedure, that may need to occur within a reasonable distance of where the defendant lives which could significantly increase costs. Ultimately, this is going to be time consuming and expensive and there is no guarantee of success. It doesn't change the fact that what happened to the OP is terrible, but it's something he will have to consider given that the cost to litigate could quickly exceed the value of the item and attorney's fees are likely not recoverable from the defendant.

[JasonOrlando]

Thanks for the comments..

I found this which gives me some hope:
http://conversion.uslegal.com/defens...f-limitations/

The statute of limitations begins to run when the cause of action accrues. In some states, the cause of action accrues at the time the harm is committed and in some states it accrues when such harm is discovered. In Serafini v. Mariani, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 31819, 14-15 (M.D. Pa. Mar. 31, 2010), the court stated that under Pennsylvania law, a cause of action for conversion does not accrue until there has been a demand for the goods and a refusal to deliver. - See more at: http://conversion.uslegal.com/defens....ZqfFa1GI.dpuf

[wiggyx]

I think you're confusing two things. There is a statute of limitations for a criminal prosecution of various property crimes. I believe you are correct that in New Jersey it's five years. The statute will vary by state, but it will be where the alleged crime occurred and not where the defendant currently resides. There is no "statute of limitations" for stolen property and a victim can always pursue a civil action for conversion or similar torts. That's why you always see those stories about the car that was stolen 30+ years ago, etc...that gets returned to the original owner.

At this point, the police aren't going to do anything about this. They also aren't going to track down the defendant. The OP will have to hire a private investigator to do that. The rightful owner's only realistic course of action is to file a civil lawsuit. That might be tough, however, given that there is no real way to positively document that the cart in question is the OPs. No lawyer is going to take this on a contingency either since it's not a monetary damages case, it's someone wanting their property back. As such, the OP needs to find an experienced civil attorney and that's going to take probably a couple thousand just to get started. The lawyer can take a deposition of the defendant and propound discovery regarding the chain of title of the cartridge, but depending on state civil procedure, that may need to occur within a reasonable distance of where the defendant lives which could significantly increase costs. Ultimately, this is going to be time consuming and expensive and there is no guarantee of success. It doesn't change the fact that what happened to the OP is terrible, but it's something he will have to consider given that the cost to litigate could quickly exceed the value of the item and attorney's fees are likely not recoverable from the defendant.

I've never hear of there NOT being a statute of limitations for the pursuit of civil charges. Even though the crime didn't occur in Jersey, I'll still use it as an example since we don't yet know where the alleged crime took place.

http://statelaws.findlaw.com/new-jer...ions-laws.html

http://statelaws.findlaw.com/acciden...mitations.html

[Bojay1997]

I've never hear of there NOT being a statute of limitations for the pursuit of civil charges. Even though the crime didn't occur in Jersey, I'll still use it as an example since we don't yet know where the alleged crime took place.

http://statelaws.findlaw.com/new-jer...ions-laws.html

http://statelaws.findlaw.com/acciden...mitations.html

There is a statute of limitations for civil cases obviously. There is not a statute of limitations as to the recovery of stolen property. The problem is going to be that this item was never reported stolen and the underlying conversion case will depend on when the statute starts running in the relevant jurisdiction (i.e. whether it's when the conversion occurred or whether it's tolled by a failure to discover the conversion until more recently.). In any event, even if this guy doesn't pursue a civil case, he can still shame this person into returning the item or make it impossible for the guy to resell it by making this situation very public.

[JasonOrlando]

Just scanned a bunch of images from my scrapbook. It's mostly not relevant to the case but some this stuff you guys might find this interesting.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...0/SCN_0001.pdf

Also of note, the article (pdf page 3) doesn't mention his name but the guy I faced in the finals in boston was this guy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cliff_Bleszinski