Lastly, wear a jacket, slacks and a tie.
If you don't have a jacket at least wear slacks, button shirt and a tie.

I've seen too many people show up for court in sweats and a T-shirt.

quote:

Originally posted by DSgrouse:

quote:

Originally posted by CoolRich59:

quote:

Originally posted by DSgrouse:
With out going into to much detail. I scheduled a service, Paid a deposit, and a portion of the work. I had to cancel, I did so 30 days in advance. It has been over 30 buisness days and no refund.

I have all of our comunications saved, I can print that all out.

IT's not clear from your post, but have you been requesting the refund and not getting it? Or, have you been watching the clock and waiting?

Even though I'm an atty, I know next to nothing about litigation in general and small claims in particular. That being said, I think it would score points in your favor if you showed mulitple requests for the refund that have been either ignored or promised and not provided.

Several times, with " i'll send it out x" "it is on its way" .....

Got it. Thanks for the clarification. IMO, that makes a big difference and I suspect it will with the court as well.

Best of luck.

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
If you appear to be getting what you want, quit while you are ahead.

Much wisdom from JHE, but I particularly like this point as I run into it all the time in my practice.

We get on the phone or in a conf room and start discussing a deal. The other side grants a concession. The doofus client feels like he/she hasn't had the chance to make all the points they wanted to make and keeps right on talking. Sometimes they just run out of wind, but sometimes they open up a new issue which either delays the deal, costs them more money, or kills the deal entirely.

So, even if you have more to say, if you get what you want, say "thank you" and stop.

DSgrouse, how has this situation turned out for you?

If you have the time, go sit in and observe small claims court in session. This was a favorite pastime of mine during lunch when I worked downtown. I observed all kinds of cases. I started with small claims cases; landlord-tenant court could be very interesting but the best were definitely federal cases.

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
How do I try my case?

It is a little like asking: "How do I build a house?"

Know what you have to prove to win. The elements of a contract are that there is a valid contract (which itself has four or five elements), that there was a breach (someone didn't do what they were called on to do), and what the damages are.

Gather your documents about the facts you need to prove. Know the evidence that isn't documentary. Arrange for witnesses if there are outside witnesses. Think of some way to organize the way you present it - chronologically makes sense many times, but there could be other structures. People can't follow a jumble of facts. They need a structure.

Think about the evidence the other side will present. Think about how to discredit it and show it isn't accurate.

Be calm. Present your case in a non-hysterical manner. Don't yell out "He is a liar" when the other side says something that isn't true. Don't even roll your eyes. Put on a piece of evidence that shows he isn't telling the truth.

Give the court what it needs to do what you want. I hear this from judges frequently - "Give me what I need to make a decision." If you appear to be getting what you want, quit while you are ahead.

Here ya go!

One of the aspects that made being a small claims judge pro tem tedious was the lack of preparation, almost always accompanied by a tendency to ramble all over the place with inadmissible or irrelevant comments. I can overlook the inadmissible, but must endure the irrelevant and it all wastes time. At least in the eastern district of San Diego ~30 years ago, court was called into session at 8:30, there would be several dozen cases on the calendar and you had to have all those problems solved by noon so the court staff could grab lunch and get back for the afternoon session.

Just as in real law, preparation is the key.

Don't waste your time, even if you win they can make it next to impossible to collect the judge even told us that. I had a rock solid case with signed proposal, emails to back up they promised to pay me, also emails telling me they loved my work and I was great to work with. I even had a lawyer tell me it was a slam dunk. The liberal hippie judge that looked like she just crawled out from the bushes hates contractors went after me like I was scum.
laughed and had a good time with the poor home owner who knew nothing and lied to the judge. I lost 7 k because I had a signed proposal and not a signed contract. the judge said I needed to itemize every nut bolt and screw in the project with pictures of those parts, and that giving them a bottom line price with drawings was not enough, yet the homeowner sighed the proposal without everything itemized. the Judge was just as bad as them. The system is a joke.

Filed this last monday, court date is in Dec. They were served by the sherriff, he sent me an email in response.

DSgrouse: Check your email.

Many years ago I had rented a house from a couple that wanted to move out of state and buy a house in Florida. 1 year later the couple sent us a letter saying they weren't going to renew the lease. Okay, come inspect the house and give me my month and one half security deposit back.
The check bounced, the account had been closed for 3 years.
I went to court, the judge asked if they had sent me a letter telling me the number of the escrow account where my security was held. When they said no, the judge stopped them and said they had to pay me.
They wouldn't pay me. Went back to court and the judge told me "yes they owe you the money, but the husband doesn't work because of a bad heart and he has no way of paying me". At the time, I worked for a trucking company owned by a lawyer. He told me to put a lien on the house and just wait it out. Two years went by and I received a call from an attorney stating the couple had sold the house and were due to close the next day and satisfy the lien I had on the house. I told their attorney I had the flu, but would be better in two weeks. Could he come to the house and have me sign the settlement? Nope, made them wait the two weeks. Payback can be a bitch! In short, put a mechanics lean on his company. You will get a response from him.

2nd time at court today, went very well. Thanks for all the advice.

Well, back in dec 21st we went through mediation, we agreed on a payment. Due in my hands by today. Whelp, guess what. I will be heading to court next tuesday.

quote:

Originally posted by DSgrouse:
Well, back in dec 21st we went through mediation, we agreed on a payment. Due in my hands by today. Whelp, guess what. I will be heading to court next tuesday.

At least you have the easy part behind you now!

quote:

Originally posted by JALLEN:

quote:

Originally posted by DSgrouse:
Well, back in dec 21st we went through mediation, we agreed on a payment. Due in my hands by today. Whelp, guess what. I will be heading to court next tuesday.

At least you have the easy part behind you now!

LOL, thanks. He did get a fairly heft dump of snow there the last week or so. Tuesday is the earliest i can make the 3 hour trip up there to refile. We will see how it goes, I will give him till end of monday to get it in my hands.

You should be collecting your money, but most of all you gained valuable experience. Some day in the future this may help you tremendously.

Where are you filing?

If in Loudoun, I can do it for you.

Winchester county, I am fine doing it on tuesday.

To be clear, are you reopening the original case and starting fresh or asking the court to enforce the settlement which resulted from mediation (which is a contract)? You should not have to start a new case, just continue the already filed one.

Just continue the one filed, but i do have to go to the court house to do that.

Got it. Enforcing a mediated settlement agreement should be pretty routine and simple for the judge. He may ask if you want to keep the settlement and enforce it or rescind the settlement and move forward with the case. The "better" answer is that you made a deal, want to stick with it, and want the defendant to do so as well--either way be prepared to answer that question.