Legal battle hindering sale- Lea Hurst and Nikki Pardalis

Originally Posted by KenyaChams

I would like to clear a few things up.

First and foremost, I am in a legal battle with Lea over a restraining order I requested against her in order to protect myself. Regardless of if I felt I should send Brittany Fangorn to right Leas wrong against her, I am not legally able to at the moment as the legal ownership of the animals is up in the air. Shipping him would be a huge mistake legally so unfortunately, patience is all we have to deal with the situation for now.

Part of the issue is that Lea left many, many animals here at my home purposefully when she vacated including animals that are hers and court ordered to be removed yet she refuses to take back. Many of the animals in this legal grey area are the gecko collection that I purchased, she bred and advertised, and told me "never sold".

I wasn't thrilled when I found out she was advertising them in June but didn't want to make waves. I figured if she managed to sell a few babies, she would back off and leave me with the adults that I had paid for and was attached to. The nature of our relationship at the time meant that Lea did as she pleased and to be honest, I was not active in the reptile community and just trying to hold my personal life together. I wasn't aware of how long she was advertising the geckos and our main dispute is over the breeding pairs of parents anyway, not the juveniles that are already produced so when she did mention she had been advertising a few of the babies but without luck, I didn't think much of it beyond annoyance that she hadn't asked me before doing it.

We agreed that the cresteds would stay with me when we were originally negotiating her moving out in very early July (before things got bad and I requested a protective order) because she had no interest or means to care for them and I had already been arguing for months that they were rightfully mine and I should be allowed to keep them since I paid for them, their housing, their food, and generally cared for their needs. Lea agreed that they were mine and I should keep them at that point and didn't say a word about the ones that apparently had sold.

When she left, she had plenty of time to grab what she wanted. She chose to not take the geckos even though she had ample opportunity, wouldn't take them later when told to remove her animals via a police escort and third party, and made zero attempts to notify me of Brittanys existence before sending her my personal information.

This is a very tenuous legal issue and I am so sorry that Brittany is caught in the middle. I told her to pursue a refund from Lea not as a brush off but because it is the quickest, most direct way to find a resolution. Brittany, you absolutely deserve a full refund at the very least but it needs to come from the person who took your money, Lea. I'm sorry that I can't right her wrong but I'm not responsible for her errors. I sympathize but this is just another manifestation of the reasoning behind all the current legal issues I'm facing.

I'm confused. I thought the legal battle was over the animals. You say here it's over a restraining order. Then you say she was court ordered to get the animals and had plenty of time to get "what she wanted". And please elaborate on how shipping a friggin lizard would be a huge mistake. I think your both nuts and should be ashamed. Lea, give the op her money back that you took.

I personally believe that these 2 are the same person, but for sh#ts and giggles, lets say they are really different people.

This is a scam loud and clear, even Stevie Wonder can see it!

Lea has mentioned other buyers who haven't received the animals they purchased, why haven't any of them speak out?

This whole story is nothing but bs, it's so ridiculous!

Any time I hear a Lawyer mentioned when on Fauna, I laugh. We all know it's the main thing scammers always bring up. And of course some sort of sad story to try to through people off the trail... Not me!

Brittany, fill out a police report. You have with in 1yr to do so. Then Lea/Nikki can hire a real Lawyer since the charges would be Theft, Theft by perception, Fraud etc...

I'd just stop waiting for this bs story to come to an end, cause it won't....

I just want to say that I know both Lea and Nikki. They are two different people, not some complex conspiracy. There are currently legal things happening between the two of them and Lea needs to refund the OP.

Originally Posted by Chris Kennard

I'm confused. I thought the legal battle was over the animals. You say here it's over a restraining order. Then you say she was court ordered to get the animals and had plenty of time to get "what she wanted". And please elaborate on how shipping a friggin lizard would be a huge mistake. I think your both nuts and should be ashamed. Lea, give the op her money back that you took.

I agree. They're both just making stuff up as they go. I don't think Nikki is quiet as innocent as most seem to think. She knew Lea bred the geckos and had some of them for sale. She now knows at least one of them did sell. I would feel like a thief keeping the gecko. Buyer beware for both Lea and Nikki in my opinion.

Originally Posted by KenyaChams

I would like to clear a few things up.

First and foremost, I am in a legal battle with Lea over a restraining order I requested against her in order to protect myself. Regardless of if I felt I should send Brittany Fangorn to right Leas wrong against her, I am not legally able to at the moment as the legal ownership of the animals is up in the air. Shipping him would be a huge mistake legally so unfortunately, patience is all we have to deal with the situation for now.

Part of the issue is that Lea left many, many animals here at my home purposefully when she vacated including animals that are hers and court ordered to be removed yet she refuses to take back. Many of the animals in this legal grey area are the gecko collection that I purchased, she bred and advertised, and told me "never sold".

I wasn't thrilled when I found out she was advertising them in June but didn't want to make waves. I figured if she managed to sell a few babies, she would back off and leave me with the adults that I had paid for and was attached to. The nature of our relationship at the time meant that Lea did as she pleased and to be honest, I was not active in the reptile community and just trying to hold my personal life together. I wasn't aware of how long she was advertising the geckos and our main dispute is over the breeding pairs of parents anyway, not the juveniles that are already produced so when she did mention she had been advertising a few of the babies but without luck, I didn't think much of it beyond annoyance that she hadn't asked me before doing it.

We agreed that the cresteds would stay with me when we were originally negotiating her moving out in very early July (before things got bad and I requested a protective order) because she had no interest or means to care for them and I had already been arguing for months that they were rightfully mine and I should be allowed to keep them since I paid for them, their housing, their food, and generally cared for their needs. Lea agreed that they were mine and I should keep them at that point and didn't say a word about the ones that apparently had sold.

When she left, she had plenty of time to grab what she wanted. She chose to not take the geckos even though she had ample opportunity, wouldn't take them later when told to remove her animals via a police escort and third party, and made zero attempts to notify me of Brittanys existence before sending her my personal information.

This is a very tenuous legal issue and I am so sorry that Brittany is caught in the middle. I told her to pursue a refund from Lea not as a brush off but because it is the quickest, most direct way to find a resolution. Brittany, you absolutely deserve a full refund at the very least but it needs to come from the person who took your money, Lea. I'm sorry that I can't right her wrong but I'm not responsible for her errors. I sympathize but this is just another manifestation of the reasoning behind all the current legal issues I'm facing.

I think there are more "grey" areas in you vague posts than in your legal situation. Could you please just explain your statement..."Lea left many, many animals here at my home purposefully when she vacated INCLUDING ANIMALS THAT WERE HER'S...". Was she supposed to take animals that weren't her's? What animals was she supposed to take as per the "court order"? And don't be sorry you can't right her wrong. Be sorry you won't right her wrong. Pretty petty. Either one of you has the ability to step up and make the real victim here right. I imagine the only person who has lost any sleep at all over this is the OP.

Originally Posted by Bobby Douglass

I agree. They're both just making stuff up as they go. I don't think Nikki is quiet as innocent as most seem to think. She knew Lea bred the geckos and had some of them for sale. She now knows at least one of them did sell. I would feel like a thief keeping the gecko. Buyer beware for both Lea and Nikki in my opinion.

Lea's reply to my previous email RE: the refund policy




I do not know if she's referring to the post or actual action that was taken. Regardless, I want to reiterate that I do not condone anyone contacting her place of business, nor do I want anyone to do so. That will not help my cause and is 100% unprofessional and unnecessary. I am trying to find a resolution without using juvenile threats or methods, no matter how unfair the situation is against me.

My next step, if no resolution is found, will be a small claims suit. If anyone would like to come forward and email me with information about the Oregon court system I would be most appreciative. I will ONLY be going forward with this legally- there will be ZERO use of any "blackmail" or shady actions.


And in regards to the emails- this is the first I've heard of any shared bank account.

Originally Posted by Pogaf

Lea's reply to my previous email RE: the refund policy




I do not know if she's referring to the post or actual action that was taken. Regardless, I want to reiterate that I do not condone anyone contacting her place of business, nor do I want anyone to do so. That will not help my cause and is 100% unprofessional and unnecessary. I am trying to find a resolution without using juvenile threats or methods, no matter how unfair the situation is against me.

My next step, if no resolution is found, will be a small claims suit. If anyone would like to come forward and email me with information about the Oregon court system I would be most appreciative. I will ONLY be going forward with this legally- there will be ZERO use of any "blackmail" or shady actions.


And in regards to the emails- this is the first I've heard of any shared bank account.

I think Lea is using you to relay her defenses here. She is using the "lawyer" excuse to avoid standing up for herself. Obviously someone is feeding these posts to her.

Originally Posted by Chris Kennard

I think Lea is using you to relay her defenses here. She is using the "lawyer" excuse to avoid standing up for herself. Obviously someone is feeding these posts to her.

She has been informed of this thread, so hopefully she is viewing it.

The talking in circles is starting to get frustrating. I'm most concerned that if everything I'm being told is true, the legal issues will drag out for a long while and things will get more and more into the "gray" zone. It's pretty cut and dry right now IMO.

I would proceed with whatever course of action you feel is appropriate. They are clearly lying to you.
You might try this as well...
http://www.ic3.gov/complaint/default.aspx
Non delivery of goods is a potential felony and since the purchase was made over the internet it's a federal offense.