Agreed but (you know there is always a but)...
Having so many domains under their management they should have a proper ticket service for disputed domain names. One cannot just bury their heads in the sand and let it slide for weeks and weeks. Dan is the domains true owner and by now godaddy should have taken some sort of action and engaged both parties. How hard is it to assign a ticket and ask the right questions to determine who the true owner is. Whois is logged, there will be receipts when domains were purchased etc. The trail is not hard to follow and a simple ticket system for disputes of ownership should be in place given how many domains they have under management. If they call it MANAGEMENT then they have to manage it from all sides. Ownership disputes are never fun but its rare not to have a clear picture who the true owner really is.
GoDaddy could probably do more, but you are dealing with a large public company with bureaucracy and a large legal staff.
This involves multiple parties and any action could also open GoDaddy up to liability.
Let's break down the parties -
Epik. The party responsible.
At worst they suffered no loss, if you trust their story. If not, they might have financially gained in some way.
Dan. The ultimate victim. He lost his domain for nothing, through no fault of his own.
GoDaddy. It's highly unlikely they are knowingly trading in stolen domains. I believe the transaction went through their marketplace. It is not clear what party actually sold the domain. Did it change hands after it was stolen? Either way, GoDaddy would have collected a commission and paid out the balance of the sale to someone.
New Owner - They would have simply bought a domain that was listed for sale. It seems unlikely they would be involved in the scam.
Then you have have the scammer. It is not really clear what happened with the domain after it was stolen from Epik.
Right now Dan is essentially the only party that has taken a loss. It is not an isolated case, as other domains have reportedly been stolen.
The transaction should be reversed, but Epik should be the party responsible for the damages sustained by the other parties.
It was their incompetence that lead to the entire situation. They have already admitted that.
Brad
