A San Jose man gave away a free iMac computer destined for hard rubbish collection, but ended up with a costly paperweight and legal action after the recipient found it more trouble than it was worth.

One week before Christmas 2005, 28 year old Alex Peterson decided to rid himself of an older model Apple iMac, a decade old computer that had sat unused in his attic for several years, before moving house. When hard trash day came around, Alex and his wife moved the iMac and other electrical goods to the kerb for collection.

Peterson deposited the iMac on top of the rubbish pile, hoping that its conspicuous presence may bring attention, and the machine could go to a new home. "I didn't have time to search for a buyer or someone to take it, but wanted to give it a chance to go to someone who could use it", Peterson stated.

The iMac didn't have to wait long, and while Peterson stacked more rubbish on the kerb he was approached by Isaac Keppelmeyer, a paralegal from Oakland who offered him ten dollars for the aging computer if it worked. Peterson informed Keppelmeyer it had worked recently.

"It worked OK, sure, I turned it on only the night before to check what was on it, just in case there was anything personal I didn't want the world to see. I deleted some old schoolwork and turned it off again" says Peterson, speaking from his Los Angeles home.

Keppelmeyer attempted to give Peterson a ten dollar note for the iMac but Peterson refused, and left Keppelmeyer to load the iMac into the trunk of his car. Keppelmeyer intended the iMac as a Christmas gift for his daughter, who had begged her father for a purple computer.

After New Year's Day 2006, Keppelmeyer approached Peterson at his new residence, and demanded a working computer after finding out Christmas morning that the iMac would not work with CDs, and the two men began arguing. While Peterson's test of the computer had shown it capable of running, the CDROM drive (required to read compact discs and other software) was broken, and Keppelmeyer's Christmas gift had gone down flat.

"They don't sell these any more" says Keppelmeyer. "I'd searched for months to find the exact color my daughter wanted, you'd think people wouldn't hold onto them any more. They were hard to find."

"My daughter's Christmas was ruined, completely ruined."

In order to have a working computer, Keppelmeyer was first forced to pay for CD repair, a process that itself didn't go smoothly. The defunct CD was replaced with a newer model, which didn't work as expected. After a second attempted repair, the computer would not start, and Keppelmeyer was left with what he describes as "a gigantic purple bubble of a paperweight."

In April 2006, Keppelmeyer posted the iMac back to Peterson and demanded costs, which Peterson refused to pay.

Keppelmeyer was forced to buy a second purple iMac to fulfill the gift to his daughter, who now has a working computer; not one that arrived Christmas day, but eight months later.

"The damage has already been done. I've been forced to pay for two repairs, disposal of a computer, and I've lost face in the eyes of my daughter" Keppeleyer says.

Keppelmeyer is suing Peterson $15,000 for suffering, abandonment, risk of emotional distress, misrepresentation, $250 for the replacement iMac, and $120 in costs for repair and postage on the computer Alex Peterson tried, but couldn't give away.