Countywide : Wieder Wins the Day in Small Claims Court

The county has won a $5,000 small claims judgment against the driver and the owners of a car that collided with Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder and caused significant damage to her county-owned Chrysler.

Wieder said Tuesday that she feels “absolutely vindicated” by the judgment, the maximum a judge can award in a small claims action.

“I’ve kind of taken a rap for something I’ve always taken pride in--that is being a good driver,” she said.

Wieder was making a left turn on a green light in Huntington Beach on Nov. 27, 1993, when she was struck on her front driver’s side by a vehicle driven by David Heath, said Dennis Bunker, the county’s claims manager. The impact was strong enough to inflate Wieder’s air bag, but no one was injured in the accident.

“I was very, very lucky,” Wieder said. “I was in a state of shock.”

Bunker said he took Heath and vehicle owners Larry and Maria Smith to small claims court when their insurance company refused to pay about $7,400 in damages to Wieder’s car. Bunker and Wieder presented their case to a judge last week, who ruled the county should be awarded $5,000, plus $105 for court costs.

Neither Heath nor the Smiths could be reached for comment.

Small claims court was an inexpensive alternative to hiring a lawyer and filing a Superior Court lawsuit, Bunker said.

“We chose to do that so we wouldn’t incur any additional expenses,” he said. “I didn’t have to pay an attorney and presented the case myself, along with Harriett.”

About a month after the accident, county officials bought Wieder a new $29,000 executive Chrysler, saying the old one was a lemon with poor suspension.