200K for 200K

Tuesday was 34th birthday. Reply with happy birthday and your favourite thing about me/one thing I need to work on for a chance to win something very, very special.

Next week, I’ll be sharing 34 lessons I’ve learned over the years, some earned the easy way, most the hard way.

Before we get to that, let’s dive into the time I got sued for $200,000. It involved a dog that wasn’t mine, a lawsuit I didn’t see coming & some tough decision making.

Agenda:

• Getting sued and what it taught me

• My time in Austin seeing Sahil Bloom

• Media I’m Consuming

  Let me know if you'd like a quick links section or a call to action at the bottom.

⌛️ Reading time 5 minutes, 13 seconds

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Getting sued for 200,000 and what it taught me.

Knock Knock

Who could it possibly be? The year was 2021 & I had just gotten back from Mexico City a few days earlier + it was COVID. No one was trying to see anybody. Probably a mistake I thought. So I ignored it.

Knock, Knock, Knock, Knock

Woah-there was definitely someone or something there. Before I could open the door, something slipped under it.

My heart skipped. Anthrax was still fresh in my mind from the early 2000s (remember those days?) I picked it up cautiously.

Statement of Claim.

For what? I opened it.

I was being sued. For $200,000.

For what, exactly?

A dog bite.

Now here’s the thing:

• It wasn’t my dog.

• The bite allegedly happened in an elevator.

• The dog was a 7-pound Yorkie.

• There was no video evidence.

• And I wasn’t even in town when it happened.

To make matters worse, the dog belonged to someone I had been seeing in the early days of Covid, you know, the days when toilet paper was golden currency.

To make matters worse, my brother was on my title of my Mortgage. Him and I have/had a difficult relationship. The statement of claim was addressed to the dog owner, as well as the mortgage Title . Instantly, things became very, very complicated & muddied. You see, our finances were connected and because he was on Title, he was also being sued.

I’ll never forget the moment I gave the Statement of Claim to my dad and watched him drive away to deliver it to my brother.

I’ll never forget the courage that must’ve taken. My brother didn’t want to hear it, wanted nothing to do with it. Imagine being a parent in that situation?

Seeing the pain and bravery in my fathers face in that moment shifted something in me.

Courage isn’t always dramatic. Sometimes it looks like being the messenger. Sometimes, it’s just taking responsibility for something that technically isn’t even yours. Sometimes its resourcing & sometimes its admitting what you don’t know.

So, I decided to take on one of the biggest, mot difficult challenges of my life. I decided to fight this lawsuit myself by learning everything I possibly could about Tort law, dog bite precedent, and the process involved.

The beautiful and juxtaposition-y thing about this situation was that I had just taken out a $200,000 home equity line of credit. The check was literally on my desk the same day I got sued. I could’ve written a check and let it go away. I could’ve said: Not my dog, not my fault, I just want to get rid of this. But I didn’t. And in the process? Learned a F*ck Ton about myself, the legal system, and everything in between.

And so began a two-year journey.

I read cases, talked to lawyers, & grilled my home insurance counsel like I was co-counsel myself.

Every move they made, I mirrored with research, questions, and insight. I made sure I understood the legal process better than the average third year law student.

And I didn’t do it alone. I reached out to a friend, Andre, a guy I played professional beach soccer with for Team Canada. His dad, GG, had a buddy named Tej who specialized in tort law.

I invited Tej over. Bought pizza. We sat down at my kitchen table and mapped out a defense strategy. I learned about precedent. About what makes a case stick. About what falls apart.

And bit by bit, I pieced it all together.

• I dug into the plaintiff’s circumstances. COVID layoffs, real estate market troubles, financial pressure.

• I looked into the building’s security footage and the absence of real evidence.

• I figured out the camera blind spots.

• I challenged each point.

• I asked questions nobody else was asking.

And ultimately?

The case was dismissed. Not without many bumps, bruises and time spent though.

One of the biggest wins of my life.

But it wasn’t just about winning a case. It was about what I learned along the way:

1. Just because it’s someone else’s problem doesn’t mean they’ll solve it.

This wasn’t technically my issue. But it was my condo, my finances, and my name on the line. Nobody was coming to save me. I had to act. Otherwise all of my equity I had built to that point would have meant nothing.

At some point I did believe the dog’s owner would come forth yet she was no where to be found.

Act, or get Acted on.

2. Use your resources, and know how to access them.

Your network matters, but it’s not just about knowing people. It’s about picking up the phone. Buying the pizza. Asking the favor. And then showing up ready to work.

Luckily Andre trusted me enough to refer me to Tej. Tej was willing to help me because he wanted to test his knowledge. He didn’t ask for anything in return but I did say years later I’d write a story about his contributions.

Thanks Tej & Andre. You were my AI/GPT before there was such a tool

3. Courage comes in different forms.

It wasn’t just about me standing up for myself in court. It was also about what my dad did, walking into an uncomfortable family situation because he knew it had to be done. That left an unshakeable imprint on me for life.

And maybe most importantly—

I didn’t just survive the lawsuit. I flipped the script.

When it was all over, I took that $200,000 I borrowed and made my first foray into private investing. Second mortgages. Hard money lending.

I just cashed out on some of those investments. Not bad for someone who, two years ago, had no idea what tort law even was.

So yeah. I got sued. But I also got smarter, sharper, and stronger.

And I’m not sure I would’ve learned those lessons any other way. It showed me everything, and I mean EVERYTHING is an opportunity.

What recent challenges have you flipped the script on lately?

Events you need to attend

SPIRITLEAF - Roll Up

Saturday Jul 12th 📆 

• 15+ Doors confirmed

• 14+ Vendors

• Nintendo Switch 2 Give Away

• Signed Raptors Jersey Give Away

• $1400 Cash prizes

• 2 Pairs of custom Nikes AM90s & Dunks

• 50 Confirmed Dancers

• 2 Food Vendors & 1 Dessert Pop Up

Tickets here

Landed in Austin and had no idea Sahil Bloom was speaking that night. Ended up catching his talk by chance. Glad I did.

He spoke about leaps of faith. How we fear them because there’s no proof we’ll make it. But there’s tons of proof for the life we already know. That’s what keeps us stuck.

I’ve felt that. More scared to fail than excited to grow. My brother’s always been the one to challenge that mindset.

This week I watched fireworks on my first 4th of July in New York from my apartment window. A few days earlier, I celebrated Canada Day and thought about my parents’ leap to immigrate. That changed my whole life.

Two countries. One lesson.

Leap.

When was the last time you did?

Have you enjoyed this newsletter? Is it providing value? Do you know somebody that would find it useful? Send them this newsletter and if you refer 5 people your next coffee run will be on me. (3 referrals = $15 Starbucks)

As the world becomes more complex, it becomes more and more challenging to stay grounded, focused and aligned. Stay ahead by fostering unity, innovation, and trust across your teams and yourself. Don’t miss out on upcoming events and insights that will help shape your success in the months to come.

- SKV