What you have here is a classic he-said, she-said situation. If there were no identifying marks, such as a serial number, recorded as part of the transaction to prove it is the same watch you walked out of the store with, all you can do is go tell your story and see who the judge believes. It doesn't sound like you have anything to lose. One point you should definitely raise is whether the store owner did anything to authenticate the watch himself, and if so why that proof was not provided to you at the time of purchase. If you come across as reasonable and honest people, and the store owner did nothing but take his "friend's" word that it was authentic, I think most small claims judges would be inclined to side with you.

Put the burden on the store owner. Have an attorney send him a letter asking 1) Where did he get it? 2) Who is his rich friend? 3) get all documents between him and his friend 4) ask him to provide evidence of where his rich friend got it. 5) ask the store owner what steps he took to authenticate it. If the owner cant go down the chain and prove it to be genuine, then you have the word of two people against one. Also, why would the husband want to replace it if it were real? The story does not hold water. If you were pulling a scam it would be a pretty dumb attempt at one because the dealer would know you were bringing back a fake one after selling you a real one.

Best,

Daniel Bakondi, Esq.

danielbakondi@yahoo.com

415-450-0424

The Law Office of Daniel Bakondi, APLC

870 Market Street, Suite 1161

San Francisco CA 94102

http://www.danielbakondi.com

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