Chapter 555: Pay the Money First

If this were in the past, Zhou Yi would have been unable to resist refuting it the moment he heard someone spouting such nonsense.

But after experiencing many court trials, he knew very well that one must speak in court; even those criminal suspects who looked heinous had the right to a defense before the Court passed judgment.

Take, for example, Lao, whose original verdict was upheld in the Second Instance.

So Zhou Yi just sat there, and Lawyer Fang also sat there quite calmly, prepared to listen to the high-minded theories of this Lawyer Lian.

"Before the opposing party's purchase, although our Strikethrough Price was higher than the original price, the opposing party, based on social life experience, must have had an understanding of gold prices before purchasing the gold product, so our Strikethrough Price could not have caused them any misunderstanding!"

"Secondly, we did not have the intent to commit Price Fraud; not explicitly stating the original price was merely a minor flaw, and there was no subjective intent. We believed that after the discount, the price was not significantly higher than the market price, so it should not be considered fraud."

"Furthermore, regarding the intent..."

Zhou Yi almost wanted to applaud while listening to this debate; it was high-level, truly high-level.

Especially that intent to commit fraud; in many cases, it is hard to judge whether it was intentional, as this stuff is very subjective. You have reasons to say it was intentional, and you have reasons to say it wasn't.

A smile appeared on Lawyer Fang's face. Credit where credit is due, this Lawyer Lian had shown improvement compared to that Lv Zuxiong from before.

Being able to know the situation through other channels was a very important part of the Supreme People's Court's judgment in the original high-priced luxury car case!

At that time, one point was that the car sales Company recorded the PDI behavior in that vehicle's records; in other words, if you didn't go to check, you might not know, but if you knew about this thing and went to check, you could definitely find it.

Therefore, it was not considered fraud there, only an infringement on the consumer's Right to Know.

Of course, the most important point was that current law does not have explicit regulations on whether all PDI must be disclosed...

And now, Lawyer Lian's view was that since you are buying a gold product, you must certainly know the price of gold. Currently, the profit margins of major companies on gold products are relatively transparent, and you can find these things through other means.

Therefore, generally speaking, the original price can be roughly found.

Then it is obvious that since you can find these costs, we had no need to tell you the original price...

Since there was no need to tell you, then there was no fraud.

Another point, of course, was that our profits were not high, so a judgment of over ten million in compensation violates the fairness principle of Civil Law.

Lian Yukuan knew very well that if he still used the reasons from the First Instance—saying that Zhou Yi existed in a state of "knowing it was fake but buying it anyway" and was not misled—he would definitely lose the case.

Whether the Second Instance would change the verdict required something new; otherwise, once the judge saw that you still had the same old content, they would basically uphold the original verdict.

After finishing, Lian Yukuan sat down.

The audience in the gallery also began to have some reactions; this kind of case is all about the details.

Lawyer Fang stood up. Of course, it is not that one must stand up for a Court Debate, but he was used to doing so; standing up to debate made him feel more in the zone.

"Regarding the two points of rebuttal from the appellant, first, that the original price could be known through other channels, the appellant's lawyer is clearly using a fallacy here."

"He has specialized the gold product, believing that gold products are different from other commodities, but our law has no relevant regulations, so gold products should also be regarded as commodities!"

"One cannot say that because everyone knows the price of the raw materials of a certain commodity, one can take it for granted that the other party knows the original price. This is obviously incorrect. The Consumer Rights Protection Law explicitly stipulates that fictitious original prices are not allowed, otherwise it should be regarded as Price Fraud, and gold products meet the commodity categories stipulated in the Consumer Rights Protection Law, therefore it should be applicable."

Having said this, Lawyer Fang took a sip of water and continued: "As for the claim of no subjective intent, I believe that is not the case. The appellant did not fulfill their obligation to inform, and their behavior was sufficient to mislead my client, causing them to make the purchase, so I believe this can be presumed as having subjective intent."

This was a bit convoluted. In plain language, Lawyer Fang meant: you did this just to make the "leeks" see a high discount and buy things; this is clearly an act of intentional fraud.

Lawyer Lian rebutted again, still insisting on his own point of view that it did not constitute fraud.

Zhou Yi could follow along at the beginning, but later he started to feel dizzy. This Lawyer Lian was indeed capable, but Lawyer Fang's rebuttals were always so spot-on.

Various relevant laws and Judicial Interpretations were brought up with ease, as if he had been prepared for a long time.

So much so that in the end, Lawyer Lian steered the argument back to the principle of fairness.

To this, Lawyer Fang's view was that the Civil Code is a general law, while the Consumer Rights Protection Law is a special law; when a conflict occurs, the special law should be applied.

The merchants themselves are in a dominant position, so the principle of fairness cannot be applied.

Or rather, if one really considers the principle of fairness, then the Consumer Rights Protection Law should not exist at all...

The Presiding Judge also listened very carefully, and finally, the debate between the two ended.

After asking if there was anything else to add, and hearing there was not, the court was adjourned.

Lian Yukuan began to drink water. He was not sure now if the verdict could be changed, but for this kind of compensation case, it was impossible to give in easily.

After a good while, the Presiding Judge returned. After full discussion by the High People's Court's adjudication committee, it was ruled to reject the Appeal and uphold the original verdict, with the Litigation Fee to be borne by A-Fu Company.

This judgment was the final judgment.

Once the Judgment was handed down, Lian Yukuan sighed, then immediately called Tang Pengcheng, who was at the Company. Because it was not a live-streamed trial, the other party was still waiting for news at the Company.

Inside the A-Fu Company office, Tang Pengcheng's face had lost all color as he listened to the voice on the phone.

"Lawyer Lian, is there really nothing we can do? If this ten-plus million is really paid out, I truly cannot keep going."

It wasn't that A-Fu Company didn't have ten-plus million, but everyone knows that many companies have significant assets, but their cash flow is not particularly abundant.

Some companies are even entirely funded by loans; the debt they owe is likely more than what the company would be worth if sold several times over.

Suddenly having to pay so much money, A-Fu Company might be able to withstand it, but he, Tang Pengcheng, could not.

"We can only apply to the High People's Court for a retrial," Lian Yukuan said with a bitter smile, "but President Tang, I must tell you first, the costs for a retrial are also not small, and it's hard to say if it will have any effect."

"Furthermore, even if we apply for a retrial, the Second Instance judgment must still be executed first..."

This is why we always say that we currently have a two-instance final system; this is the reason.

You can be dissatisfied after the Second Instance, but you must execute it; no matter what you say, you must execute it.

As for applying for a retrial, the execution will not be affected during the retrial period. If the verdict is changed in the retrial, then the money previously executed will be returned.

It sounds like a pointless exercise, but this is the procedure. The Second Instance finality is the rule; the rest, such as applying for a retrial and trial supervision, or a Protest, are all calculated separately.

Tang Pengcheng's vision went black; the Second Instance judgment takes effect as soon as it is handed down.

If it is not performed within ten days of the delivery of the Judgment, the other party can apply for Compulsory Execution...

A-Fu Company is so large; in this situation, can they transfer funds temporarily?

A crime of refusing to execute a judgment would be pinned on them for sure.

It is sometimes easier to carry out Compulsory Execution on such visible and tangible companies than on individuals, because their money is right there in the account.

If the Court really carries out Compulsory Execution, this is much easier to handle than those ordinary people who have no money at all.

There was no way, absolutely no way left. Tang Pengcheng decided he would just resign himself.

Of course, he did not know that inside the Court, Lawyer Fang was already contacting people.

"Right, definitely won. This case can serve as a classic case, right? I don't think there's any problem with it being a guiding case either. We must let many people study it well—how things should be is how they should be!"

What does it mean to become a classic case? It means that from now on, anyone studying law will look at your case.

What kind of treatment is that? Just search for Long Ge and you'll know; this treatment is truly top-tier.

In fact, there is no need for Lawyer Fang to contact anyone; the Court here in Shenzhen will naturally report it.

Such a big case can indeed become a benchmark.

Still the same point: legal provisions are naturally not just for show. Since it is a measure for Punitive Damages, there is no reason to say you want to use it when the money is small, but then come up with all sorts of excuses when the money is large. It certainly cannot be calculated that way.

The two left the Court holding the written ruling, and at the same time, the Second Instance result of the sky-high compensation case had already appeared online.

"Appeal dismissed, original judgment upheld!"

As soon as the news came out, it immediately caused the Netizens who were watching the drama with boredom to boil over.

"Holy crap, it really upheld the original judgment! This compensation, this is going to be a windfall!"

Someone online started to lament, look at how A Yi has been so persistent for so long; it's not as satisfying as a single lawsuit.

However, someone soon refuted it.

"A Yi said this money is to be donated. You think he's the same as you?"

Then, naturally, both sides started arguing, because many people do not believe A Yi will donate this money.

And even if he did donate it, it would definitely be a fraudulent donation!

It's not that everyone online likes to be contrarian; it's just that over these years, some people have ruined the act of donating.

There have been quite a few cases of fraudulent donations, so people are suspicious whenever these internet celebrities claim they want to donate.

But more people feel that this case truly belongs as a benchmark, much better than the "smoothing things over" done in some places.

For example, there was a case where a judgment stated that the value judgment and function of a vehicle and its paint could be separated; even if the paint had defects, it did not affect the safety performance and usage of the whole vehicle, only affecting the vehicle's appearance and the consumer's psychological perception, so it was called what—"Partial Fraud."

Then the Appeal overturned it...

Why? Because the appellate Court stated very clearly that there is a line between fraud and non-fraud; there is no "partial" zone for "Partial Fraud."

Why? Many frauds are partial. If a "partial fraud" is created, then our Consumer Rights Protection Law loses its meaning regarding the protection against fraud.

There are many who support it, and not a few who oppose it, feeling deeply pained there, believing this judgment will encourage those unhealthy tendencies, making many people think about getting rich through such means...

Regarding such views, Zhou Yi did not offer any evaluation.

Because there really was no way to evaluate it.

After staying in the hotel for a day, the two returned to Jingzhou. They came to fight the lawsuit, so once the lawsuit was finished, it was natural to go home.

If the other party does not execute, then just pull over any... no, send a Lawyer over to apply for Compulsory Execution.

After this lawsuit was finished, Lawyer Fang was very excited; it was obvious that his notebook could be filled with many things again.

And Zhou Yi was equally excited, because Zhou Xinran said that once they were engaged, she would come over to live together, and before that, she would also come to see him every few days.

Hmm, as for "how she sees him," that content requires a membership and extra payment, so I won't say much more.

Returning and staying for a day, it happened to be the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. On such a good day, Zhou Yi naturally went to Zhou Xinran's home to spend it.

The festive atmosphere of the New Year had slowly dissipated, and everyone's life had entered a normal state.

Likewise, the work of the Tengda Legal Department began to get busy again.

——

It was another bright morning. Zhou Yi climbed out of bed. Recent days had been a bit decadent, damaged by wine and women, and he felt a bit haggard.

So, after hesitating for three seconds, Zhou Mouren decided to temporarily quit drinking for a week.

After washing up, he went downstairs to eat, then drove to work; this had become his daily life.

It is said that A-Fu Company has already applied for a retrial. That doesn't matter; it is their right.

And Zhou Yi only cared about one thing: whether the compensation money had arrived.

This was already the sixth day, and there had been no movement.

However, he was not in a hurry; A-Fu Company has deep pockets, they can't run away.

Arriving at the Company, he finished his daily work and then strolled over to the Legal Department.

As it turned out, before he could even enter, he heard bursts of crying coming from the office.

What is it this time? Has someone been domestically abused again? Or has another Employee been scammed out of a Bride Price?

Although there is a Legal Aid Fund, your brains shouldn't be that bad!

He hurried inside and saw an Employee standing there, with an old person of about sixty or seventy sitting next to him.

"Oh, President Zhou is here? Please, sit here!" Wang Daoren, the Lawyer on duty today, saw Zhou Yi and hurriedly greeted him.

Zhou Yi nodded, looked at the somewhat restless Employee and the old person, and smiled: "Everyone, just be at ease. I'm just here to take a look. That young man, you continue, it's fine."

Wan Hai, an Employee who had only joined Tengda shortly before the New Year, finally stopped being agitated and said: "President Zhou, I already said a little bit just now. Actually, the matter is like this..."

As Zhou Yi listened to the matter from the other party's mouth, his brows could not help but furrow!

Although he had never thought that everyone was a good person, he also never thought that some people could actually be this bad!

Or rather, they didn't even think their behavior was wrong at all!