Comment by throwaway2037
20 hours ago
I think cases like this should be brought before a small claims court. It seems unfair. The company (Framework Computer) provided the software, but the software is faulty and broke ("bricked") the laptop. Can you imagine if a GPU driver caused the card to get bricked? Even if out of warranty, surely the manuf would be legally liable in many jurisdictions for this faulty driver.
The author's LinkedIn profile[1] tells me that this person lives/works in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. While the issue is already fixed, for others affected with the same issue, I would suggest the small claims route. Make sure to talk with an LLM to follow the correct steps to gather and prepare evidence for your claim. If you are lucky enough to win, then you should "go nuclear" on social media (and their own forums) to share the win and the exact details about how you did it. Framework Computer will surely (1) cave and provide replacements or (2) be flooded with small claims about this issue.
"talk with an LLM to follow the correct steps"
Or, if you need legal advice, go to a lawyer, not an LLM.
In Canada , there are cases where people self represent in court because they think a LLM replaces an expensive lawyer.
The last one that tried that was fined 5,000$ for wasting the court’s time.
Author here. I am not even sure how much damage I can actually claim given that I spent $20 on tools to fix the laptop. If I bought a new board, I might be able to claim that, but filing small claims over $20 is likely not worth anyone's time.
The important thing here is awareness and helping anyone affected, not trying to get Framework fined for a tiny sum.
Consulting a lawyer would most likely be more expensive than whatever small claims compensation one would potentially be entitled to.
So you don't get your money back then. Using a hallucinating robot to guide you legally is a great way to be caught with your pants down.
13 replies →
You beat me to it! That is exactly my point: An LLM can guide you to find the forms, fill them, and gather your evidence. Even the cheapest lawyer will far exceed the 500 USD repair fee that is the basis of your small claims lawsuit!
Another thing (this is me guessing here): The standard for evidence and "legal excellence" must be far lower for small claims court, compared to regular district court. The whole point is to provide a very low cost way for average citizens to sue other citizens or companies for recourse. As I understand, most small claims courts don't need or require a lawyer.
Related anecdote: This year, there was a story of a single Japanese mother using an LLM to file a lawsuit against the father to establish paternity[1]. (Note: This was family court, which, again, will have many people attending that cannot afford a lawyer, but the judge will show care that they receive fairness, given their limited knowledge of the law.)
[1] https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260325/p2a/00m/0na/02...
3 replies →
Read the court's forms and instructions then. LLMs are notoriously inaccurate regarding the law and conflating every legal system. Going in blind is better than going in misled by an "AI".
The $500 for one person's motherboard would not be the point.
Thank you. The commenter had me onboard right up until that point.