# Friend claimed I ruined his late grandma's reupholstered chair. Wants me to pay for damages.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-claimed-i-ruined-his-late-grandmas-reupholstered-chair-wants-me-to-pay-for-damages/805602
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [December 30, 2017, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-claimed-i-ruined-his-late-grandmas-reupholstered-chair-wants-me-to-pay-for-damages/805602 "2017-12-30T23:57:47Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@DkTrdGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DkTrdGuy)
#### Post date: [December 30, 2017, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-claimed-i-ruined-his-late-grandmas-reupholstered-chair-wants-me-to-pay-for-damages/805602/1 "2017-12-30T23:57:47Z")
One of my friends grandma’s died somewhat recently. She was a sweet old lady who left behind two awesome vintage chairs. While they were awesome, they were a bit worn. So, my friend had them reupholstered
It was long process. His grandma was very important to him, and so were her chairs. He was willing to sacrifice a lot of time, money, and thought to make sure the chairs looked marvelous. He documented the whole process on facebook.
The end result? Lush reupholstered beige suede Louis XV Bergere chairs. They looked great in the photos! It would be such a lovely chair for me to SIT on.
A little while later, my friend invited me to his condo. And then I saw them! These beautiful chairs placed in his living room, highlighted by the evening sun shining through the windows. I barely said “hi” to my friend and then I immediately flopped down on one of his chairs.
My friend got all bug-eyed, walked over, and pulled me up. At our horror, my express dark blue jeans released some blue dye onto his precious chair. I didn’t think about that before I sat down. He tried to clean it, but it made the fabric look worse. My friend is pissed and wants me to pay $650 to get it re-reupholstered.
I don’t think it is my fault! Chairs are made to be sat on. My friend should’ve posted on facebook that he didn’t want anyone sitting on the chairs. Or at least, he should’ve posted a sign in his house. Suede was also a bad choice of fabric. It looks nice, but it’s hard to clean. I don’t think I’m going to pay. I hope this doesn’t end our friendship. He has access to a lot of things that I need. He knows a lot of women. Also, my friend is really good at sportsbetting, and I need his advice.
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### Author:  [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2017, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-claimed-i-ruined-his-late-grandmas-reupholstered-chair-wants-me-to-pay-for-damages/805602/2 "2017-12-31T00:08:18Z")
You could try telling him just what you have said right here.
“I know that it was me sitting on that chair that ruined it but I don’t want to pay to get it fixed. I hope this doesn’t end our friendship because you have access to a lot of things that I need. You know a lot of women. Also, you are really good at sportsbetting, and I need your advice. The one thing I don’t need is to feel responsible for what I did.”
See how that works out?
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### Author:  [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2017, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-claimed-i-ruined-his-late-grandmas-reupholstered-chair-wants-me-to-pay-for-damages/805602/3 "2017-12-31T00:20:22Z")
You can try getting the chair professionally cleaned. Cheaper than reupholstering.
Otherwise, I think @don’t ask summed it up nicely.
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### Author:  [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2017, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-claimed-i-ruined-his-late-grandmas-reupholstered-chair-wants-me-to-pay-for-damages/805602/4 "2017-12-31T00:24:50Z")
Chairs are meant to be sat on, not stained by your jeans. So yes, you’re responsible for the damage. $650 for a seat cushion sounds a bit steep.
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### Author:  [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2017, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-claimed-i-ruined-his-late-grandmas-reupholstered-chair-wants-me-to-pay-for-damages/805602/5 "2017-12-31T00:25:10Z")
1. You did, in fact, damage the chairs. You should pay.
2. Your desire to NOT pay is causing you to blame your friend for your action. This will end the friendship.
I mean, yes, it’s reasonable to sit down on chairs that are in a room unless you’ve been warned not to, so there’s an argument that as host he should just eat the cost of his foolishness in not advising you of special rules. I don’t think that really mitigates the fact that your actions, even though they were reasonable enough, caused the damage.
1. You only seem to want the person as a friend because you perceive that he is useful to you. This will also end the friendship eventually.
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### Author:  [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2017, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-claimed-i-ruined-his-late-grandmas-reupholstered-chair-wants-me-to-pay-for-damages/805602/6 "2017-12-31T00:33:08Z")
Something is wrong with your jeans. Ergo, you owe it to your friend to correct the situation.
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### Author:  [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2017, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-claimed-i-ruined-his-late-grandmas-reupholstered-chair-wants-me-to-pay-for-damages/805602/7 "2017-12-31T00:50:38Z")
> [@DkTrdGuy](#):
>
> **Friend claimed I ruined his late grandma’s reupholstered chair…**
Based on your version, friend is correct.
You have two choices:
1. Pay for repair
2. Be a dick
mmm
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### Author:  [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2017, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-claimed-i-ruined-his-late-grandmas-reupholstered-chair-wants-me-to-pay-for-damages/805602/8 "2017-12-31T01:00:03Z")
I’m trying to figure out why your jeans stained the chair?
I have never heard of this happening.
Does it have something to do with the chair’s material? Is there something different about your jeans? I can’t say exactly what I think unless I understand these matters!
My first thought though is it should be split: He should have warned you\*, and probably should have had the chairs covered if they weren’t yet safe to sit in (?), meanwhile, you shouldn’t just plop down on a vintage chair that you know has been taken very good care of over the course of several facebook posts without first asking.
\*How did you get to the chair and into it without him exclaiming that you shouldn’t sit on it? Or did he not know you shouldn’t sit on it? I’m so confused about your jeans. Do your jeans regularly stain furniture?
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### Author:  [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2017, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-claimed-i-ruined-his-late-grandmas-reupholstered-chair-wants-me-to-pay-for-damages/805602/9 "2017-12-31T01:13:31Z")
I’m confused about the jeans, too. Have they stained anything else? (I’ve heard of new clothing sometimes staining other clothes in the washer if you’re using hot water, but nothing like this.)
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### Author:  [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2017, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-claimed-i-ruined-his-late-grandmas-reupholstered-chair-wants-me-to-pay-for-damages/805602/10 "2017-12-31T01:17:51Z")
Brand new jeans that have not yet been washed do sometimes bleed a little.
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### Author:  [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2017, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-claimed-i-ruined-his-late-grandmas-reupholstered-chair-wants-me-to-pay-for-damages/805602/11 "2017-12-31T01:19:32Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#):
>
> Brand new jeans that have not yet been washed do sometimes bleed a little.
While new jeans may bleed in the washer, I’ve never had a pair that hemorrhage when being worn.
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### Author:  [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2017, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-claimed-i-ruined-his-late-grandmas-reupholstered-chair-wants-me-to-pay-for-damages/805602/12 "2017-12-31T01:20:07Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#):
>
> Brand new jeans that have not yet been washed do sometimes bleed a little.
If that’s what’s going on, and was known to OP, it’s definitely a full OP-pays-all situation.
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### Author:  [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2017, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-claimed-i-ruined-his-late-grandmas-reupholstered-chair-wants-me-to-pay-for-damages/805602/13 "2017-12-31T02:52:48Z")
Never heard of jeans - new or old - staining furniture. What the hell are “express dark” jeans? You pay extra for pants that stain?
You knew the chairs were very important to him - and very pricey. You “flopped down” on the chair without asking, and damaged it. You pay - to have it cleaned at least.
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### Author:  [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2017, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-claimed-i-ruined-his-late-grandmas-reupholstered-chair-wants-me-to-pay-for-damages/805602/14 "2017-12-31T02:56:00Z")
The OP probably scooted his ass on the chair, causing some dye/fibers being impressed into the fabric. I can totally see it happening.
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### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2017, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-claimed-i-ruined-his-late-grandmas-reupholstered-chair-wants-me-to-pay-for-damages/805602/15 "2017-12-31T03:12:34Z")
Your friend has to mitigate damages. Professional cleaning should be able to remove the stain for much less than re-upholstering. And you don’t have to pay any more than the chair is worth, he’s not entitled to profit from this accident. How much he spent on the chairs is irrelevant, they have a value, and in the very worst case that is all you would owe him.
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### Author:  [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2017, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-claimed-i-ruined-his-late-grandmas-reupholstered-chair-wants-me-to-pay-for-damages/805602/16 "2017-12-31T03:19:40Z")
> [@DkTrdGuy](#):
>
> I hope this doesn’t end our friendship. He has access to a lot of things that I need. He knows a lot of women. Also, my friend is really good at sportsbetting, and I need his advice.
If those things aren’t worth $650 to you, it doesn’t sound like you need them very much.
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### Author:  [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2017, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-claimed-i-ruined-his-late-grandmas-reupholstered-chair-wants-me-to-pay-for-damages/805602/17 "2017-12-31T03:28:43Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#):
>
> “I know that it was me sitting on that chair that ruined it but I don’t want to pay to get it fixed. I hope this doesn’t end our friendship because you have access to a lot of things that I need. You know a lot of women. Also, you are really good at sportsbetting, and I need your advice. The one thing I don’t need is to feel responsible for what I did.”
Yeah, try this one and get back to us.
But if not, your jeans, your butt, you pay for professional cleaning AT LEAST.
---
### Author:  [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2017, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-claimed-i-ruined-his-late-grandmas-reupholstered-chair-wants-me-to-pay-for-damages/805602/18 "2017-12-31T05:07:19Z")
And don’t fucking _flop_ into someone else’s furniture, especially more structured designs and pieces that are obviously precious to that person. Jesus Christ.
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### Author:  [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2017, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-claimed-i-ruined-his-late-grandmas-reupholstered-chair-wants-me-to-pay-for-damages/805602/19 "2017-12-31T05:24:52Z")
I still want to know what’s wrong with your jeans that they’re staining furniture and why you’re wearing jeans that messed up. And yes, you should pay to get the chair fixed (though you can probably find a cleaner to do it for less than completely reupholstering the chair). In the future, if someone’s just spent a ton of money on something, treat it carefully, and only wear pants that aren’t leaking dye onto everything you sit on.
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### Author:  [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2017, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-claimed-i-ruined-his-late-grandmas-reupholstered-chair-wants-me-to-pay-for-damages/805602/20 "2017-12-31T06:04:10Z")
His pants were red. They were soaked in…um, cranberry juice. Cran-apple!
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