Presidential politics turned a $75 used couch purchase into a $30K Tampa Bay lawsuit

Miscommunication over a delivery and a brief volley of politically fueled insults escalated a $75 used couch purchase to a lawsuit seeking up to $30,000 in damages, according to Pinellas County Court records.

St. Petersburg woman Elizabeth Gardner has been embroiled in a legal battle with Largo’s City 2 City Moving for more than a year. According to a court filing, Gardener purchased a brown leather couch from City 2 City owner Regina Jones in January 2021. 

But Jones said Gardner couldn’t take the couch home that day. It was packed behind a truck full of furniture. Gardner said she was told to meet at the Largo shop the next day to get it. But when she arrived and the truck was opened, nothing had been moved. Jones then offered to deliver the couch in a few hours. But the couch didn’t come, and Gardner called back. Gardner said Jones asked her to come back to the Largo location. But when she showed, Gardner said no one else did.

According to court records, that is where things started to get heated.

Gardner said she called City 2 City while waiting, and a man answered. She described his tone as “condescending and rude.” He allegedly told her he wasn’t making enough money off the couch sale to meet her or send someone else to meet or deliver the couch.

The heated exchange allegedly ended with the man telling Gardner he did “not give a f**k about that couch,” and her “(Joe) Biden-loving ass is never going to get that couch.”

But Jones said that’s not exactly how things went.

In response to Gardner’s allegations, Jones said Gardner could not “complete their acceptance because leaving with the couch was beyond their capabilities.” She then said the company made two attempts to deliver the couch. The response admitted, however, that the driver missed the window.

“City 2 City argues Plaintiff (Gardner) made it impossible to accept her one free delivery by leaving home instantaneously at the end of her delivery window time, rendering the delivery impossible,” Jones’ attorney said. “City 2 City argues Plaintiff not being available for the second delivery with flexibility rendered a free delivery impractical since so much money went into making it happen for her without any promise of payment.”

Jones, through her attorney, also denied the “Biden-loving” comment. Sort of.

She said Gardner started it.

“This is a misstatement because Ms. Jones is of the reasonable belief Plaintiff instigated an argument by telling a staff member of City 2 City that they were a part of a (Donald) Trump-loving cult,” her attorney said in a court filing.

Jones tried to settle the case with a refund of the $75, but the settlement was rejected. Court-ordered mediation between the parties also failed. Jones was also denied motions to dismiss the case or move it to small-claims court.

Gardner is represented by her father, John Gardner. A judge also denied Jones’ motion to remove him from the case.

Florida Politics could not reach Gardner or Jones for comment. The case is ongoing.