Re: So I Sued a Cam Site...
whoa. my i ask, without getting too detailed, what the basic reason for the lawsuit? disregard & apologies if too personal.
Re: So I Sued a Cam Site...
Congratulations, loveshooks!!! I'm super happy for you and you are not being insensitive in my opinion! I'm still owed money by them but I'm not gonna go hiring lawyers over $50. You, on the other hand were owed a LOT of money. I think it's good this has its own thread because it gives us encouragement and I know a lot of us have been wondering how your case was going.
I'm a bit loopy on cold meds at the moment so my apologies if anything I'm typing doesn't make sense, it's all running together to me at the moment lol but I just wanted to congratulate you and give you big virtual hugs! So happy this ended up paying off in the end!
Re: So I Sued a Cam Site...
There are so many ripoff companies who take advantage of cam models.
I'm so happy to see a model WIN for a change! Awesome job.
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@MellyMay, my bad, I forget that not everyone joined sw before I did :). Basically Camwealth was an indy site I joined after I left big box. I had a great relationship with them for about 2 years and then they closed abruptly last summer, promising everyone that they'd make good on funds owed but never did. To the best of my knowledge they didn't pay anyone else back willingly, which was why I was kinda reticent to post this.
I'm much more cautious about payment processing sites now, after that happened. That experience taught me that allowing someone else to control my $$$$$ wasn't a smart choice, that there's no guarantee that a site will act ethically and honestly. If it wasn't for the fact that other chicas got ripped off I'd actually consider that entire experience a positive one, not just financially in terms of post-Camwealth success but also in terms of what the experience taught me about protecting my $$$$.
thank you Tsani and Laurie, I really appreciate it :hug:
Re: So I Sued a Cam Site...
Congratulations. I think this post deserves it's own thread if only to show that models can win against shady companies.
Re: So I Sued a Cam Site...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
loveshooks
@MellyMay, my bad, I forget that not everyone joined sw before I did :). Basically Camwealth was an indy site I joined after I left big box. I had a great relationship with them for about 2 years and then they closed abruptly last summer, promising everyone that they'd make good on funds owed but never did. To the best of my knowledge they didn't pay anyone else back willingly, which was why I was kinda reticent to post this.
Hmmm. I wonder if the statue of limitations (US anyway) is up if other girls were thinking of sekking legal action despite this not applying to me. Granted, it would have made sense to do it immediately, but.... yeah.
(haha, I know. I'm still such a newb here)
Re: So I Sued a Cam Site...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
MellyMay
Hmmm. I wonder if the statue of limitations (US anyway) is up if other girls were thinking of sekking legal action. Granted, it would have made sense to do it immediately, but.... yeah.
(haha, I know. I'm still such a newb here)
It's going to vary by State. Mostly likely you would present your claim in small claims court if it is less than $10,000 in most cases.
Here's a great source: http://www.nolo.com/legal-encycloped...art-29941.html
And the fact that they settled with loveshooks provides a pretty good standing for anyone else who wants to go after them. I'm not an expert, this is just my non legal professional opinion.... :)
And CONGRATS loveshooks!!! Good for you!!!
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I'm so glad everything worked out!
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wow congrats!!! That is awesome! I'm SO happy for you...that actually brightened my day/night because I was having a shitty one and I'm literally so happy for you that it really did brighten things up for me lol
After reading the thread and just thinking on it for a minute it crossed my mind that it would be a good idea to mention to everyone that if they aren't currently keeping records of all of their camming transactions, they might want to start doing so, because if something like this happens that could be your only defense. Records will make a world of a difference if someone wants to take someone or a company to court. And congrats again! I'm over the moon for you!
Re: So I Sued a Cam Site...
This is such wonderful news. It's a personal win for you, and a symbolic win for sex workers everywhere. This stands as proof that one person really can fight a shady site and get justice, even after that site has long since folded up shop and tried to crawl into a hole with the money. What an empowering thought!
Congrats, loveshooks! You worked hard for that money and I'm so glad your efforts paid off in the end. It must feel good to finally have some closure on that after so long too.
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SO happy for you! Thank you so much for sharing this victory! You made me start my day wih a smile =)
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Yea they owe me like $50 bucks.. I knew them very personally, SHE has even been to my house!... and they ripped me off as well.. and I am so GLAD you got paid.. Karma is quite the bitch.. and they deserved being sued so they don't do this shit again.. In fact they had another cam site called Iamacamgirl and they never finished paying me from there either.. so good for you!
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wow, I didn't really expect this kinda response. thank you so much everyone :goodvibes
BoP you have NO idea how relieved I am to have this finally over with, even though my lawyer did all the work it was still in the back of my mind as unfinished business. Feels wicked to have it finally over with for good.
Anonymous, when I found out from you last year that this may not have been the first time the pulled something like this that kinda doubled my conviction that I needed to pursue it. I'm sorry you got ripped off as well, if this was a recurring pattern with them I hope I've helped scared them off continuing it.
Tbean, what you wrote about saving records is SO important. Everything we do is online and most earnings records are hosted on the domains of the sites we work. If a site goes down (as in the case of Camwealth) we're left with nothing if we don't keep our own records. Had I not taken screen shots of everything before they pulled down their sites I would have been completely SOL. I take screen shots of my earnings from all sources now as a matter of habit but I didn't think to mention that in my posts above. Thank you for doing so, that's a hella important point. Thanks as well for your kind words :)
thank you again everyone, wishing everyone a wicked $$$$$$ day
Re: So I Sued a Cam Site...
Loveshooks, I am so glad you got your money! But I am confused. If they still had money, why did they go out of business? Did you sue the owner of Camwealth or Camwealth the business? I hope he doesn't try to reincarnate the business as another name to just rip more models off.
For those of you that don't know...Loveshooks was their top model for a VERY long time and referred a lot of cam models to them.
Anyhow, way to go!!! xoxo
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^^^Thank you bb :)
I actually sued both the corporation and the two managers as individuals. Typically an LLC (corporation) protects the managing members from being held accountable for the actions of the LLC, but it's possible to 'pierce the corporate veil' and sue the managing members as individuals if certain conditions are met. A hassle and not a guarantee of success, but it can be done.
In my case none of that mattered though, an LLC only protects the managing members if the corporation is active. In this case the LLC had actually lapsed a few years back, long before they closed the site. If a corporation doesn't exist as a legal entity it affords no protection and the individuals behind the LLC can be held personally responsible.
Re: So I Sued a Cam Site...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
loveshooks
^^^Thank you bb :)
I actually sued both the corporation and the two managers as individuals. Typically an LLC (corporation) protects the managing members from being held accountable for the actions of the LLC, but it's possible to 'pierce the corporate veil' and sue the managing members as individuals if certain conditions are met. A hassle and not a guarantee of success, but it can be done.
In my case none of that mattered though, an LLC only protects the managing members if the corporation is active. In this case the LLC had actually lapsed a few years back, long before they closed the site. If a corporation doesn't exist as a legal entity it affords no protection and the individuals behind the LLC can be held personally responsible.
Thank you for the explanation. You are one smart cookie!
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That's so awesome loveshooks! I'm very happy for you and I'm glad you mentioned print screening. I've been doing the same as well and it is a lifesaver because you never really know when a company will dive. Heck, big box sites like SM could pull the rug out of everyone before payday and so many of us would be screwed. I was too wondering about how you got around the LLC. Silly company, how could they let their business ride out for two hole years without renewing their LLC? I just purchased mine a few months ago and wouldn't dream of doing business without it, or not keeping it insured. I'm glad you got your money from those crooks. You really are a true inspiration!
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Wowwwww. I'm glad it worked out for you!!
I had forgotten about that site or if I had even worked on it. But I sure did. Went back in my emails and now I remember all that drama that surrounded it. Crazy crazy.
Re: So I Sued a Cam Site...
Quote:
Everything we do is online and most earnings records are hosted on the domains of the sites we work. If a site goes down (as in the case of Camwealth) we're left with nothing if we don't keep our own records. Had I not taken screen shots of everything before they pulled down their sites I would have been completely SOL. I take screen shots of my earnings from all sources now as a matter of habit but I didn't think to mention that in my posts above. Thank you for doing so, that's a hella important point.
Nice one Loveshooks ... and your point about independent record keeping via 'official' documentation is extremely valid !!! Many court cases have shown that self-generated financial records ( i.e. personal ledgers ) provided by adult industry workers tend to be regarded with suspicion.
Quote:
Typically an LLC (corporation) protects the managing members from being held accountable for the actions of the LLC, but it's possible to 'pierce the corporate veil' and sue the managing members as individuals if certain conditions are met. A hassle and not a guarantee of success, but it can be done.
In my case none of that mattered though, an LLC only protects the managing members if the corporation is active
also an important point about LLC's not being as 'protective' as other types of corporations. And this point, of course, is relevant to dancers / camgirls suing corporations as well as to dancers / camgirls forming corporations !!!
PS I have great respect for your 'personal determination' in bringing this lawsuit. Undoubtedly it required you to lay out a whole bunch of legal fees up front, with no guarantee that your legal fees would ever be recouped, let alone actually receiving any ( settlement ) money on your claim. That took 'balls' !!!