It’s Easy to Fight Back in Small Claims Court
There’s no telling how much money Americans have lost in nickel-and-dime disputes.
The dry cleaners might ruin a suit. A landlord might refuse to return a security deposit. A retailer might shortchange a customer or charge for a service never ordered.
Often these problems are minor, costing individuals only a few dollars. But, at times, the losses can escalate into the hundreds--even thousands--of dollars. Still, many consumers are reluctant to battle for their lost funds. Some say they hesitate because they don’t know what to do. Others think that fighting it out might cost more than the problem is worth.
However, often consumers would be well served to take these disputes to small claims court. It is easier than you might think. And all it costs is your time.
Small claims court is a forum for individuals who have relatively minor troubles. No one can be represented by a lawyer. In California, no dispute can be worth more than $5,000. And they don’t deal with criminal matters. In other words, this is essentially only for fights about money where neither party has done anything illegal--they just disagree.
There are hundreds of these courts across the country, and many of them offer nighttime sessions for those who cannot take time off work. However, some local small claims courts operate solely during normal business hours, Monday through Friday.
The advantages of small claims court are clear. Not only does the court provide a solution that is legally enforceable, it does it relatively quickly.
Generally, once a consumer files the paperwork to get an action started, it is only a matter of weeks before a hearing date is set. The hearings themselves can often be over within minutes. Typically it takes a few months from start to finish.
Consider the experiences of Diane Lapostol, an Orange County homemaker who has taken two cases to small claims court and won them both.
The first case: Lapostol’s dry cleaner lost a dress. She waited a few days, hoping the cleaners would find the garment. When they didn’t, she demanded $100 to buy a new dress. The dry cleaner refused. And Lapostol took the matter to small claims court.
The whole process was surprisingly quick and easy, she said. She drove down to the local court and asked for information. The clerks there were able to provide her with the forms and tell her how to serve the dry cleaner with the court papers.
When she went to court, the dry cleaner didn’t show up, she said. That meant she won without a fight.
Still, the dry cleaner refused to pay the judgment. Lapostol called the court again, and they told her about a “till tap”--essentially hiring someone to collect the bill. She paid a fee to have a federal marshal stand in the dry cleaners office and physically confiscate customer receipts. The marshal collected enough to cover the judgment--and his fee.
The second time Lapostol went to small claims court, her landlord had confiscated a $325 cleaning and security deposit. This time, the landlord came to fight the claim, but the judge ruled in Lapostol’s favor. She estimates that the hearing took less than an hour.
Although all such actions clearly do not go that smoothly, Lapostol maintains that small claims court is a great option for consumers who are organized and willing to spend a little time to recover money that’s due to them.
How do you file a small claims action? Simply go to your nearest small claims court and pick up the paper work. You need, however, to be careful about where you file your suit, said Evelyn Stein, consumer affairs specialist with the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer Affairs.
The safest place to file is the city in which the defendant--the person or company you are suing--lives or does business. If you file in the wrong court, the judge may dismiss your claim and suggest that you start over in the correct courthouse.
Another caution: Be careful about how you name the defendant. If you win, you can only collect your judgment from the person or entity that you’ve named, Stein added. So, if this is a business, you might want to name the business and the company’s owner as the defendant. If it is a partnership, you might want to name the partnership and each individual partner. That way, if the company doesn’t have the money to pay you, you might be able to collect from an individual who does.
You also need to list a current address for the defendant--either business or home--so the court papers can be properly delivered. They must be sent by certified mail or personally delivered by someone who is not a party to the suit. No hearing date will be set until the court knows that the defendant has your paper work.
After that, you just need to wait and prepare your case. You should collect any written evidence that proves your point. And you may even want to line up witnesses to vouch for your story’s veracity, if other evidence is lacking, Stein suggested. It is very important to be prepared because small claims actions can only be appealed by the defendant, she added.
