[wildwestcraig]

My name is Craig Dansie and this is a story about how Laurence Miller (a.k.a. “Bicycleman”) made repeated false claims about a DVD he makes and sells on the sidewalks of Waikiki, as a street performer; and how I sued him and got a refund plus court costs.

The Confidence Game

In May 2007, I saw Laurence Miller performing card magic on Kalakaua Avenue in Waikiki, Hawaii. He said, "All of the tricks you have seen me perform tonight are on the DVD. If you have any questions, just go to my website on the DVD and send me an email. I'd be happy to answer any questions you have." He said the DVD was $20. I was intrigued, and he succeeded in selling me one of his DVDs for $20.

There were only five tricks on the DVD. I was disappointed. Among the tricks I was very interested in, but missing were: “Classic Force,” “Triumph” and “Muscle Pass.”

Sometime after, I ran into Miller again while walking down Seaside Avenue, and asked about the missing tricks. He told me I could find those tricks in the section of the DVD called “Flourishes”. I asked him why he would put sleights and tricks under flourishes, and he said, “So people will watch the whole DVD and not just go directly to a trick to see how it's done.” I had already watched that section, but gave him the benefit of the doubt and said I would look again. When I got home, I looked in the “Flourishes” section and “Classic Force,” “Triumph” and “Muscle Pass” were not there. I was upset. I went to Miller’s website and sent him an email about the missing tricks, but I received no reply.

On October 6, 2007 I saw him performing on Kalakaua Avenue. I again told him that I didn't find the three tricks in question on the DVD. Miller said I must have got a bad disc and offered me one of his new discs, stating that his DVD has twelve tricks on it and not just five. He proceeded to name all twelve. I told him I sent him an email but received no reply. Miller said I sent the email to the wrong address. I told him I sent it through the form on his website cherrydeck.com. He said doesn't receive email there anymore and I must use a different email address. He didn’t tell me his new email address. I was eager to get home to view the new disc. When I got home, I put in the new DVD and found only five tricks on the disc. The three tricks I was interested in were not on the disc. I tried to go to Miller’s websites www.cherrydeck.com and www.bicyclemandvd.com but both websites were down. I was not happy and beginning to feel “conned.”

On October 28, 2008 I saw Laurence Miller on Kalakaua Avenue again. I told him that the second DVD he gave me to replace the first, only contained five tricks, not twelve as he had claimed. He still claimed the DVD contained twelve tricks.

The Jig is Up

On November 12, 2008 at about 10:00 pm I saw Laurence Miller on Kalakaua Avenue AND I had both DVDs with me. I was determined to get a refund because I did not get what I paid for due to his repeated false claims about the content of his discs. He no longer refuted the fact that there were only five tricks on the DVD. I asked him for a full refund of twenty dollars. He refused. I asked at least two more times, “Are you sure you don’t want to give me a refund?” Miller refused me a refund.
He used a lot of profanity and claimed, “You can’t sue me because I know the system better than you do.” I called for police assistance. Officer D. Yamamoto, badge #529, arrived and I explained to him how Laurence Miller sold the disc to me under false claims. He advised I take Miller to court as this was a civil matter. At this point, I was very frustrated and upset, but decided I had no alternative. Determined, I proceeded.
The case was filed on November 13, 2008, in Honolulu District Court: Craig Dansie vs. Laurence Miller, a.k.a. “Bicycleman”, Civil Case # 1SC08-1-2054. The court date was set for December 10, 2008. In addition, on November 13, 2008, I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau: BBB CASE #52008533. Laurence Miller failed to reply to the Better Business Bureau after two weeks. They tried to contact him a second time, but he again failed to answer the BBB.

You Have Been Served

On November 18, 2008, with legal papers in hand, and a server with me, I witnessed Laurence Miller being served the “Statement of Claim and Notice” on Kalakaua Avenue. The process server asked him, "Are you Laurence Miller?" Miller replied, "No". I stepped up and assured the process server that I can identify him as Laurence Miller. The process server laid the “Statement of Claim and Notice” at his feet as he refused to take the papers by hand. Laurence Miller later picked up the documents. He exclaimed, "What happens if I don't appear in court?" I told him, "Then the judge will issue a default judgment in my favor." A little later that same evening, Miller approached me while I was speaking with an acquaintance. I felt very uncomfortable as he tried to talk to me. I told him he can speak to the judge in court.

Around December 2008, I also filed a complaint with the State of Hawaii Office of Consumer Protection, Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. Warren J. Hayama took the case: Case No. 2008-1251. Laurence Miller did respond to Mr. Hayama. If he had not, he would have risked being subpoenaed. Miller denied misrepresenting the contents of his DVD, and told Hayama I was welcome to pursue a refund through legal alternatives. I proceeded.

Judgment Day

On December 10, 2008 Laurence Miller failed to appear in court. The judge issued a default judgment in my favor. On January 14, 2009, after receiving certified copies of the Judgment, I mailed Laurence Miller a copy of the judgment to allow him fourteen days to pay, as required by the court. It was sent to his address on Nahua Street in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Harassment

On February 19, 2009, Laurence Miller approached me twice, as I was performing as a magician, once at about 9:15 pm and again at about 9:45 pm on the sidewalk near 2348 Kalakaua Avenue. He was with several of his friends, three to four males and one female. They harassed, intimidated and tried to provoke me as I was entertaining people. I asked him to pay the judgment or go away. He asked, “What judgment?” I gave him a second copy of the judgment, informing him if he didn’t pay the judgment, his bank account would be levied, to which he replied, “You can’t levy my bank account.”

One of his friends started video taping with a small digital camera. I repeatedly asked Laurence Miller to leave me alone. He said, “No, you bother me when I’m performing on the sidewalk.” (Referring to the day I asked him for a refund and called for police assistance.) I told him I didn’t sell him anything, don’t owe him anything, and said that I would pursue a restraining order if he didn’t leave me alone. Only after a friend of mine from my magic club, noticing how odd it was that they were video taping me, and decided to photograph them as well, did they go away. I have three photos of Laurence Miller harassing me on the sidewalk and his associate video taping me.

On February 20, 2009 I filed an “ExParte Motion for Examination of Judgment Debtor” that would subpoena Laurence Miller into court to either pay the judgment or answer questions regarding his financial affairs for the purpose of collecting the judgment from him. This whole Miller issue was really starting grate me. At the same time, I was getting an education on legal procedures and filing motions, so I was hopeful and looking forward to resolution and satisfaction.

You Have Been Served… Again

On the evening of March 5, 2009 Laurence Miller, called out my name as I was walking down Kalakaua Avenue on my way home. He claimed he wanted to settle the judgment, so I stopped. This was music to my ears! He started by saying he was concerned about his reputation and said, “I don’t know what you tell people about my magic, but I don’t say anything bad about your magic…” The lawsuit and his reputation have nothing to do with how well he performs magic, but with his dishonesty and how he misrepresented his product, the DVD to me.

He said something about wanting to have a judge or investigator who works for the state of Hawaii to broker the transaction so the judgment could not be used against him in the future. He wanted me to sign a paper claiming this or that. It wasn’t making sense to me. I offered to give him a receipt for the $60 judgment if he paid it to me now. It wasn’t what he wanted me to do. He decided he was not going to pay me to settle the judgment. It was getting tense and uncomfortable. I was so tired of his games. I walked away, disheartened, and wishing I had not bothered to stop.

I remembered I had the “ExParte Motion for Examination of Judgment Debtor” papers with me, and I decided if I could find someone to serve him, this was a good time as any. After convincing someone to serve him the papers, I walked back towards Miller. The server asked him, “Are you Laurence Miller.” Again, he would not admit who he was. The server laid the court documents at his feet as he would not take them by hand. We left.

Bench Warrant Issued for his Arrest

(Apparently, Dan and Dave's forum limit posts to 10,000 charaters. To read the rest of the story, see the "Laurence Miller.txt" attachment. )

[trashmanf]

continued...

Bench Warrant Issued for his Arrest On March 16, 2009, 1:30pm, Laurence Miller failed to appear at the “ExParte Motion for Examination of Judgment Debtor,” and the judge issued a bench warrant for his arrest and set bail. I later learned from court records that at approximately 2:25 pm the same day (55 minutes late to court), Miller came into the courtroom, told the judge he was sitting in the wrong court room earlier and pleaded with the judge to set aside the bench warrant. The judge set aside the warrant and set a new date for “Examination of Judgment Debtor” on April 6, 2009. Stall Tactics and Perjury On March 16, 2009, Laurence Miller filed a “Motion to Set Aside Default Judgment.” He wrote and signed under penalties of perjury, "I never received any paper work regarding the above case except for a Judgment of Debtors Motion. I feel I should have a chance to defend myself." Yet court documents prove that Laurence Miller was served with the paper work “Statement of Claim and Notice” on November 18, 2008, and failed to appear in court on December 10, 2008. On March 31, 2009, Laurence Miller failed to appear in court for his “Motion to Set Aside Default Judgment”. The judge denied his motion. The Examination On April 6, 2009 Laurence Miller finally appeared in court for the second ”Examination of Judgment Debtors” hearing. This was the first time I saw him in court. Judge Christopher P. McKenzie presided. Laurence Miller and an associate of his tried to take surreptitious video of me while we sat in the courtroom waiting for our case to be heard. When I would move, they would move the camera to continue shooting video of me, trying to intimidate me, and succeeding in irritating and making me feel uncomfortable. I informed the bailiff. Miller’s tactics baffled me. All this over twenty dollars. When our case was called, the judge asked us to go outside and for Miller to answer my examination questions. The examination questions are for obtaining information about his employment, bank accounts, assets, etc., for the purpose of collecting on the judgment through such means as levying his bank account or garnishing his wages. Once outside the courtroom I informed Miller if he would pay the judgment today he would not have to face the examination questions. He indicated he was not going to pay the judgment. Miller answered a couple questions, and then refused to answer the rest. I told him if he doesn’t answer them now, he will have to wait for all the other cases to be heard and answer them before the judge. We went back into the courtroom and waited for all other cases to be heard. When we faced the judge again, Laurence Miller told the judge he never received any paper work regarding this case. The judge read the address where Miller was served and the name of the person who served him on the “Return of Service.” I informed the judge I witnessed him being served with the paper work and how Miller had asked me "What happens if I don't appear in court?" The judge then told Laurence Miller to sit next to him and advised him he was under oath. The judge then turned to me and said I could proceed with my examination questions to Miller. After a couple of uncomfortable questions about his personal financial affairs, he tried to make it appear to the judge, that he didn’t understand that all he had to do was pay the $60 judgment to avoid answering the examination questions. He then agreed to pay the judgment to avoid further questioning. Judgment Paid in Full The judgment was paid in full for a total of $60.00 in cash: $20 for the original DVD, plus court costs. After payment he said something to the judge about how he was going to serve me with a restraining order. The judge told him to leave the courtroom. The only times I have approached him since asking for a refund on November 12, 2008 was to have him served with legal papers. However, he has approached me no less than three times, to harass, intimidate and provoke me. Not the First Time... I have found several postings from internet forums regarding other people’s experiences with Laurence Miller including here on Dan and Dave’s site. A couple postings where people said they didn’t get what they paid for. Apparently, I am not the only person that has been duped by and/or has voiced complaints about Laurence Miller in public. I saved all the court documents if anyone is interested. Buyer Beware I value and respect the art of magic, as well as the art of busking. Being a street performer gives us the venue to practice and improve our skills, while doing what we all love to do, entertaining people with magic. Our audience, should they feel inclined, show us appreciation by rewarding us with a donation. When someone’s motive is to make a quick, dishonest dollar, under the guise of a street performer, it hurts everyone, including unwary customers. It gives street performing and performers a bad name. This is just my story. I wonder how many other people Laurence Miller sold that DVD to, who did not have the time or inclination to confront him. I wonder how many bought his DVD, flew back home from a Hawaiian vacation, and now have bad feelings about street performers and Hawaii in general. As the old adage goes, “Buyer beware,” especially if you’re thinking of buying Laurence Miller’s DVD. Craig Dansie Kailua, Hawaii

that is a crazy story! the dude is bad news for sure kind of like OJ at least you got something from it eventually. I kinda wish I could sue E for their crappy "XTC" deck also.