Last year, the Washington state attorney general tried something that no government had ever tried before: it sued the people behind a Kickstarter campaign that never shipped the merchandise that it promised. Justice moves slowly, but that case has finally been settled, with the company that failed to send Asylum horror-themed playing cards, being ordered to pay a total of $54,851 in restitution, civil penalties, and the attorney general’s costs and fees.
The problem with such a case being brought by a state attorney general is that everything must be calculated based on only the Kickstarter backers who live in the state of Washington. Out of the 810 backers, 31 were Washington residents at the time of the campaign in 2012, so the case was brought on their behalf.
The Kickstarter project was supposed to be a set of horror-themed playing cards, and the campaign raised $25,146 back in 2012. The cards were supposed to be delivered at the end of 2012, but the people behind the project haven’t communicated with their backers since the summer of 2013.
The final judgement against the Nashville-based company includes:
$668 in restitution to Washington state backers
$1,000 in civil penalties per Washington backer for a total of $31,000
$23,183 of costs and fees for the AG’s office to bring this case
AG MAKES CROWDFUNDED COMPANY PAY FOR SHADY DEAL [Washington State OAG]
by Laura Northrup via Consumerist