[Alberta's Child]

I'm actually happy to see this lawsuit filed. It will an interesting case study in some legal issues associated with GoFundMe and similar fund-raising mechanisms like that.

If I open a GoFundMe page for the guy next door to raise money to deal with some kind of distress he's facing, who has the legal right to collect and distribute the money?

The biggest problem the plaintiff in this case may face is that he may have no standing to even file the lawsuit if someone else set up the GoFundMe page. And if they used it to collect $400,000 under phony pretenses, then it's the DONORS, not the phony "recipient," who probably have a stronger case against the perpetrators.

[Political Junkie Too]

The only standing I can think of is that the couple used his likeness and name without compensation. They wouldn't have raised that money without using him to do it.

-PJ

[Larry Lucido]

phony pretenses

Isn't that redundant? Are there true pretenses? Is a phony pretense the truth?

[fireman15]

I'm actually happy to see this lawsuit filed. It will an interesting case study in some legal issues associated with GoFundMe and similar fund-raising mechanisms like that.

Very, very wishful thinking on your part, I am afraid. This never will "go to court". It's just a shakedown. It is just enough money to attract lawyers like flies on manure. But it is not enough money to make it worth their while to "go to court".

The lawyer on the drug addict’s side is certainly working on a pro bono basis meaning he will keep 40% to 90% of whatever is left right off the top plus his “expenses”. The young couple will either find a lawyer who will take his cut out of the remaining funds or depending on what is left, they will just roll over and give the remaining money to the dead beat’s lawyer. In either case there will be not be enough funds left to be an incentive for anyone to take this to court.

The one thing that you can be absolutely sure of at this point, is that after the lawyers take their cut, the dead beat loser will get a tiny fraction, if anything at all, of what is currently left and will squander every penny on drugs and booze.

I hope the starry eyed young couple did spend most of the money trying to help Johnny and reimburse themselves for his multiple burglaries of their home. It will be that much less for the blood sucking lawyers to divvy up.

[Wuli]

I think you are right as to who has he bigger and more winnable claim against the couple who took and spent the GoFudMe money - the homeless man or the donors, and it’s likely the donors. Maybe they should get together and make a class action suit on their own behalf, with the proceeds (if they win) going to the homeless man.