I'm also still at 0.
The last communication I received was on June 28:
It says the account is legitimate: "The info provided is legit."
I think though it is a lot of money, so probably we want to be triple sure before making a payout (in case it is done mistakenly).
What comes after triple checking? quadruple checking? I have not given my consent to Bitcoinica to hold on to my deposits after the closure of the trading platform almost 2 months ago now. Will Bitcoinica honor their own ToS?
[7] Obligations of Bitcoinica
Bitcoinica will use best efforts to supply you with the information and technical means to use its Services in a twenty-four-hour mode of operation. To the best of its abilities, Bitcoinica will fulfill all your trading orders, keep the register of your orders and of their fulfillment, and provide you with necessary extracts upon your request. Bitcoinica shall provide the following online reports:
Open Positions: Report presenting the account's open transactions.
Account Statement: Report presenting the account's balance at a given point of time.
Clearly Bitcoinica is unable to fulfill these obligations. The question is what 'Best effort' actually means. I would like to see online report representing my balance at this point in time.
[12] Limitation of Liability
IN NO EVENT SHALL BITCOINICA, ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS OR EMPLOYEES BE LIABLE FOR LOST PROFITS OR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH OUR WEB SITE, OUR SERVICES OR THIS AGREEMENT (HOWEVER ARISING, INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE) EXCEPT AS STATED IN THIS AGREEMENT. THE LIABILITY OF BITCOINICA, ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS OR EMPLOYEES, TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTIES IN ANY PROVEN CIRCUMSTANCE IS LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT OF MONEY YOU TRANSFERRED OR DEPOSITED IN YOUR ACCOUNT AT BITCOINICA IN RELATION TO THE TRANSACTION GIVING RISE TO SUCH LIABILITY. In the case where you make funds available for trading via a voucher, "coupon code", or similar from another financial service, banking institution or exchange, you acknolwedge that you are providing Bitcoinica access to those funds for trading purposes only and that the originating financial institution is the holder of such deposits. Bitcoinica is not liable for any loss if such institutions fail in honoring withdrawal of customer funds.
Basically it states Bitcoinica liable for the amount of money customers deposited and should return this in full. I don't think Bitcoinica can penalize legit account holders for incorrect payouts they made to others in mistake. The question here is what 'PROVEN CIRCUMSTANCE' means. Is the burden of proof on the company or the customer? I would argue that this is primary Bitcoinica's responsibility. Bitcoinica is treating all customers as potential 'malicious agents' and treating any claim evidence as possibly faked.
The other interesting tidbit here is that when you provide funds using vouchers (e.g. MtGox claim codes), the originating institution will remain the holder of those deposits. So maybe I should ask MtGox for my Bitcoinica deposits back
[16] Company's rights
Bitcoinica reserves the right to suspend the operation of this site or any part or sections of it. In such an event, Bitcoinica may, at its sole discretion (with or without notice), close out the customers' open trades at prices it considers fair and reasonable at such a time and no claims may be entertained against the Company in connection thereto. Bitcoinica may, at its sole discretion, impose volume or other limits on Customer accounts.
Clearly Bitcoinica exercised this right as Bitcoinica has been suspended for almost 2 months now. It also appears that the closing price is non-negotiable. (fine with me, since I did not have open positions anyway)
[18] Technical Problems
You understand that while the Internet and the World Wide Web are generally reliable, technical problems or other conditions may delay or prevent you from accessing the Web site. Bitcoinica shall not be liable, and you agree not to hold or seek to hold Bitcoinica or any of its agents or service providers liable, for any technical problems, system failures and malfunctions, communication line failures, equipment or software failures or malfunctions, system access issues, system capacity issues, high Internet traffic demand, security breaches and unauthorized access, and other similar computer problems and defects.
Does the liability in this clause only apply to 'web site access' or also extend to liability for customer deposits and withdrawals?
[21] Governing Law; Arbitration and Court Jurisdiction
...If any part of this Agreement is unlawful, void or unenforceable, that part will be deemed severable and will not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions. The parties recognize electronic and magnetic recordings as evidence when settling disputable matters...
...Binding Arbitration: For any Claim (excluding Claims for injunctive or other equitable relief) where the total amount of the award sought is less than $10,000, you or Bitcoinica may elect to resolve the dispute through binding arbitration conducted in person, on-line or based solely upon written submissions where no in-person appearance is required. In such cases, the arbitration shall be administered in accordance with New Zealand law or any other established Alternative Dispute Resolution provider mutually agreed upon by the parties.
The ToS gives customers the right to resolve claims of <10K through a Dispute Resolution Provider in NZ. Yet Bitcoinica did not register with a DRS. Has any customer made use of this kind of service. If so how? What options are available for claims > 10K?
~= 98.5 BTC 
