God Bless The Person Who Sues My Client - A True Story of Greed and Vengeance

by Brad Koteshwar

  He replied to Littleton, “John, now this is not about losses. It is now about avoiding a total loss of the goods and avoiding serious legal implications for both of us. I agree with Montoya. We need to get this thing shipped to Rotterdam immediately. It cannot stay here in the United States. If the authorities get a whiff of this cargo, you and I are in for a long haul in jail. We cannot risk it.” Bartel managed to stay even toned on the phone even though he felt like reaching at Littleton’s throat through the phone and shaking him hard.

  Bartel continued, “At today’s market prices you may find a willing buyer for this overseas for maybe $300 to $350 a case. I realize that is close to a $100,000 loss from the purchase price. But the alternative is that you lose the cargo to confiscation which would be a loss of $440,000 or thereabouts. Plus you may be hit with a fine of $100,000 or more and maybe 5 to 10 years in prison. I don’t think you have any good choices and you have to pick the least painful choice.”

  Littleton wouldn’t hear any of it. “No way am I taking a loss on this, Ron. I have other buyers I can offer the product to right here in the United States. Maybe I will reduce the selling price a little bit to make it attractive!”

  Bartel was flabbergasted. This was incredible and he started to remember what Marcia had told him when they had met Littleton for the first time a couple of years ago in Miami. He should have walked away from this deal the moment Littleton decided not to wait for Patrice van der Meer’s return from vacation for inspection of the cargo in Limassol. But it was too late for that now.

  Bartel said, “John, if you plan to sell this cargo here in the United States, I don’t want to be involved.”

  Littleton said, “You don’t want to be involved? You are involved, my friend, where you like it or not!” Littleton slammed the phone down. That was the last Bartel heard from Littleton for several weeks.

  Bartel called Theo Stevenson immediately. They talked of for a long time. It was obvious to Bartel that Theo had no knowledge that the seller was dealing in counterfeit. Theo got on the phone to contact his seller who was based in Nicosia, the capital city of Cyprus. And not much to his surprise, the phone number was disconnected. Theo called Tabaknie and asked Jan van der Meer if he had any new contact numbers for his seller of this counterfeit Marlboro shipment. Van der Meer informed Theo that he had no workable contact numbers for this seller and even if he did have it he would never be able to disclose it. Theo had no real hope of recovering anything from the seller. That seller was in the wind. This was the nature of the business. Hence the absolute need for all the precaution a buyer could use before making payments. This was where Patrice van der Meer’s services were critical and essential. Patrice’s inspection was just as crucial as Tabaknie’s escrow account services in protecting a buyer’s interest. The best protection for a buyer was to combine Patrice’s inspection with Tabaknie’s escrow service.

  Theo called Bartel back and updated him on the situation. Furthermore, Theo Stevenson offered to submit all his paperwork from the seller to Bartel. Bartel, in turn, submitted all the papers and contacts that Theo handed about this shipment to Littleton. Bartel didn’t expect Littleton to find the seller in Cyprus despite his strong resources. Moreover, the terms of the deal had been agreed upon and all the terms of the deal had been met. There really was not much Theo could do. But Theo offered to help as much as he could to recoup the losses. Theo offered to return $10,000 profit that he made on the deal. Bartel told him to sit tight and that he would get back to Theo and will indeed ask for his help. Bartel knew there would come a day when Theo’s help would be needed.

  Some days later during their phone call about other deals, Bartel heard from Theo Stevenson and as well as other brokers in the business that someone was trying to sell a container load of fake Marlboro in Miami. Bartel kept his mouth shut. Some weeks later Bartel heard from Montoya during their conversations about other shipments that Montoya was handling for Bartel, that the Limassol cargo had been marked for confiscation and destruction by the U.S. government. And that Littleton had already been served notice of the destruction.

  Littleton had used all the tools available to him and had sent investigators to Cyprus to meet with Agiamukis Bonded Warhouse in Limassol. Agiamukis had submitted the identity of the Cypriot seller. It was the same person as the one Theo Stevenson had given up. And try as they may, Littleton’s investigators couldn’t locate the seller.

  Bartel had a sinking feeling in his stomach.

  Chapter 7: Pay a Mortgage

  The year 2000 came to an end. Marlboro importing into United States was a business that was finished for good. All the players were now exploring other ways to move product into other markets. This was also the start of the internet cigarette sales business as many dealers set-up internet sites to sell cigarettes. These internet sites were set-up overseas and the cigarettes would be shipped to individual buyers in USA in plain brown large wrappers around a carton. This market exploded as many dealers made a lot of money quickly yet again.

  It was early 2001 and Ron and Marcia Bartel had decided to move to a larger house to accommodate their growing family. They put down a 20% down payment on a $500,000 house in Scottsdale, Arizona. After a couple of months in the new house, Bartel was settled in and after working hard for the past three years without a real vacation, he took his family for a vacation to Hawaii. It was a great vacation for the Bartels. Both Ron and Marcia came back rejuvenated and ready to get back into the business groove.

  Out of the blue, Littleton called Bartel a few days after Bartel returned from Hawaii. “Hey Ron. How are you doing?” The voice just a little bit too soft for Ron’s liking. He knew the hammer was about to drop.

  “You have been a stranger, John. How is it going?” replied Bartel.

  “Well, not so good for me. But I hear everything is going great for you, Ron. I heard you bought a new house? I heard the house is a half-a-million dollar house? Life must be very good for you, Ron.”

  Bartel didn’t like the tone and said, “It has been the result of many many years of very hard work, John. As you know, we are not in the same league as you. This was a major move forward for us.”

  “You know, Ron, I sent Tabaknie $432,000. I lost it all. I have no way of knowing to whom he sent that money. I have called him to track down the seller on that deal. He does not disclose anything as you know. So I have started a legal proceeding against Jan van der Meer in the Netherlands. Did he send that $432,000 to you? It seems quite coincidental that you buy a house for a price similar to the amount I lost!” Now Littleton’s voice had a serious edge to it.

  Bartel was stupefied, “What? What the hell are you talking about? I put down a small down payment from my own savings! I have a 30-year mortgage. I am sure you have checked the public records. I cannot believe something so ludicrous would even enter your mind.”

  Littleton persisted, “But you are in touch with Jan van der Meer, aren’t you?”

  Bartel said, “John, in my business as a broker, I deal with all the major warehouses in the world. Not just Tabaknie. I deal with Mougennatie and Arbitnatie in Belgium, I deal with Evertop Logistics, KNB and Almac Inter in Rotterdam in addition to Tabaknie, I deal with Schoenenker in Panama and Instanweg in Dubai. I speak to all of them at least once or twice a week. My business requires me to do this. There is no conspiracy here. Tabaknie sent that money to the owner of the cargo I am sure.”

  Littleton went on, “Can you talk to Jan van der Meer and try and elicit to whom did he send the $432,000? I need to track down the seller of that fake shipment. He is the one I need to sue. If Jan van der Meer can disclose the details, then I do not have to pursue my case against him. It will save all of us a lot of headache.”

  Bartel said he would try but couldn’t promise anything as Tabaknie never disclosed any identities.

  During one of his conversations with Jan van der Meer of Tabaknie about a beer shipment that Bartel was arranging for his clients, Bartel opened the line about the L
imassol Marlboro shipment. Jan van der Meer was somewhat tight-lipped. Bartel didn’t expect anything less from him. Van der Meer said, “Ron, that John Littleton is not approaching this problem properly. If you still speak to him, try and convince him to come and visit us and sit down face to face to come to a proper solution. Going through the courts will only cost everyone a lot of money and nothing will be accomplished. As you know, he has a lawsuit against us. I really cannot go deeper into it because of the lawsuit. But his chances of winning are slim and recovering his money this way is not the correct way.”

  Bartel couldn’t agree more with van der Meer. But he wanted to know what options were available to Littleton to recover his losses. So he pursued van der Meer with, “But Jan, it is a lot of money to lose. If it had been a few thousand dollars here and there, I can understand that business losses are inevitable. But this is over $400,000! That would bankrupt most small operators. And it is just plain unfair that someone sold a container of fake merchandise and made a killing. And you know who the seller was, Jan. That makes it hard to swallow. You have to be willing to offer a more concrete solution than just saying to come and sit down and talk to you. I need to give Littleton some morsel of information that would allow him to make a serious attempt at recovery.”

  Van der Meer slowly said, “Maybe I can direct him towards a couple of deals that will help him recover his losses. But for me to make any offer to him, he needs to drop the lawsuit and come and sit with me and talk. You know, he didn’t even pick-up the phone and call me when this whole episode unfolded. I just received a notice of a lawsuit. Come on, Ron. You have setbacks in business. It doesn’t mean you destroy the relationships that helped you make profits when the going was good. At least have the courtesy to call me and talk to me first.”

  Bartel knew van der Meer’s point was a valid one.

  Bartel called Littleton back. Littleton was curt, “So what did Jan say?”

  Bartel had to word this right, “Well, here is my take on my chat with van der Meer. He is not happy about the lawsuit you have against him. He would have much preferred if you had contacted him first, John. I hear you didn’t even call him but just set the ball in motion legally. Why didn’t you at least try a phone call? I get the feeling that he has opportunities to offer you to recover. I didn’t go into all the details but I think if you drop the suit and sit down with him, he can be an asset and a great help in recovering your money.”

  “Is he saying he can give me the seller’s identity or not?”

  “I don’t think he is thinking along those lines. I feel he has other options to get your money back. It will probably involve other deals,” replied Bartel.

  “That is unacceptable, Ron. I need my money back. I cannot get involved in spending more on a different deal to get my money back,” shot back Littleton.

  “You are unwilling to have a chat with him to see what his offer is?” Bartel couldn’t believe it but Littleton was being unreasonably stubborn. It was probably his lawyer that convinced Littleton that lawsuit was the only option. If there wasn’t a lawsuit, the lawyer wouldn’t get paid. So it was in the lawyer’s best interest to pursue legal options. Bartel never liked a lawyer who was not open to at least one final dialog between the disputing parties to work things out.

  “No, Ron. I want to know who the seller is who got my money and that is it.”

  “How will finding the identity of the seller help you? I have gone over the proforma umpteen number of times. Everything in the terms and conditions was agreed and met. It would be a hard sell to make any legal case even if van der Meer told you who it was that got the money,” Bartel responded.

  “Don’t worry about that. I just want to know who cheated me and sold me fake goods. I intend to make his life miserable!”

  Bartel knew right then and there that there was no point in talking to Littleton. He was intransigent and blind with vengeance.

  About a month later, Bartel answered his front door as the door-bell rang. He was handed a piece of paper by what looked like a messenger service. Bartel ripped open the envelope and read the letter and screamed at the top of his voice, “That son of a bitch!”

  Littleton had just served notice of a lawsuit against Bartel. The claim was that Bartel’s company, Silver International, had sold a container of Marlboro to Caravan Shipping. The suit went on to claim that the merchandise was confiscated by the US Customs and destroyed resulting in a loss of $440,000 to Caravan Shipping. The demand was that Silver International was to pay up to Caravan Shipping the $440,000 lost.

  It was then that Ron Bartel had started calling the lawyers listed in Martindale and based in Norfolk. After talking to a couple of lawyers and crossing them off his list, he had spoken to Jim Callahan. Jim Callahan was a business and civil litigation expert and Bartel’s conversation had gone well with him.

  But Callahan had ended their conversation once again with, “Ron, I must be honest. This is a lousy lawsuit for you to defend. The deal is way too complicated and exotic with exotic names and places for most juries to understand. They will get thoroughly confused and the only thing they will understand is that Littleton lost $440,000. They will want to find fault with someone and that someone is going to be you. If there is a way for you to settle this out of court I encourage you to talk to Littleton. If you want me to talk to his lawyer, I will but then I have to charge you. I don’t see what you can lose by talking to Littleton yourself. After all, you both made good money with each other for a decent period of time. If it doesn’t work, then I can try it one more time with his lawyer. The attempt to settle cannot come into the court in front of a jury so you really have everything to gain and nothing to lose.”

  Bartel called Littleton right away. Once connected, Bartel stayed calm and said, “John, now what a surprise I got today. I am not sure what this lawsuit will accomplish but I wanted to talk to you before any of this went out of hand.”

  Littleton was not in the mood to talk, “Ron, I have not heard any solution from you. In fact, you have gone silent. Why am I the only one holding the bag?”

  Bartel could have retorted with any number of ways but there would a time and a place for that. This call was about trying to settle this before it went so far ahead that there would be no turning back. Instead of answering him, Bartel said, “I can help you try and recover some of your losses, John. Going to court would cost me at least $25,000 if not more and it probably will cost you a lot more as you are going after Tabaknie and me in two separate countries. I am calling you to see how we can avoid the legal costs and the fight which may last a while.”

  Littleton put the hammer down, “Ron, you owe me $440,000 in losses. The way I see it, you had no problems buying a house and getting a 30-year mortgage. You can do the same with me. Pay a monthly sum over a 30-year time period. Like a mortgage.”

  Bartel had no words. He saw the futility of this attempt to talk to Littleton. He resigned himself to a long protracted legal fight with a man blind with vengeance, a man who thought the whole world conspired to get his money. There was no logical reasoning with a man like that, thought Bartel. This has to play out in the courts.

  Chapter 8: The First Bite

  Once the legal wheels started turning, the costs just started adding up for Bartel. Bartel had called Jim Callahan back and had told him about Littleton’s demand that a $440,000 mortgage type payment would be needed to avoid the lawsuit. Callahan had never heard of such a ridiculous proposal and said, “There is no talking to this man, Ron. I am sorry but the unpleasantness is going to start and it is not going to let up until this is finished and done. It is going to cost you, it is going to lead to many sleepless nights and almost daily irritations. I need you to pay us a $10,000 retainer and I need you to send me all the communications you had with all the parties directly or indirectly involved with this transaction. I need you to write down a complete chronological step by step unfolding of this transaction. I need full complete address, phone, fax , emails of all th
e parties involved in this deal.” He went on to give Bartel additional instructions.

  It took Bartel several days to put together the complete package for Callahan. Bartel made a copy of the entire package for himself and sent the box of papers to Norfolk to Callahan’s office.

  It was slow laborious process but Callahan didn’t want to make this easy on Littleton. So his first motion was to question the jurisdiction that Caravan Shipping had in bringing a lawsuit about a deal that occurred in Europe against a company in Arizona in the courts of Virginia. It was a long shot, Bartel knew. The court ruled against Bartel and claimed that in the modern era of electronic communication, no boundaries existed.

  Then started the long process of discovery, as both sides started asking each other a whole bunch of documents. This process took several months. Then came the deposition as Littleton’s lawyers wanted to depose Bartel. This required Bartel to fly to Norfolk.

  As Bartel and Callahan walked into Littleton’s lawyers office, he had to admit that Littleton’s deep pocket had afforded him a law firm with a sophisticated setting. Compared to this, Callahan’s office was a simple one room office in a strip mall. Jim Callahan was in his sixties and was prone to understatement. In the conference room at Littleton’s lawyer’s firm, Bartel met Littleton’s lawyer. He was young, in his mid-thirties, he was short at five foot six and was very condescending. His name was Lane Sneddon and he was a partner in the firm. Bartel thought, this puny guy is charging Littleton at least $350 a hour and there is incentive for him to keep this lawsuit going. Littleton was a good client for a lawyer. Someone with deep pockets and someone bent on vengeance.