Small Claims Court

[txminipinto]

Does anyone have experience with taking someone to small claims court?

I'm at the end of my rope and just about to go postal on this man. We contracted a house mover to move our house. He was REAL easy to get a hold of before he was paid. Unfortuantely, when they moved the house they damaged the shingles and according to my insurance company, also damaged the marriage eaves (Oh, by the way, my insurance company wants to drop our home insurance now because of the resulting damage

- and in the same breath, told us they weren't writing manufactured home policies any more!). It was an agreed understanding that these issues would be repaired quickly.

That was in September. I've called and called. He either doesn't answer, has someone else answer, never returns the call, and has even refused delivery on a certified letter :arg! (stating that if he doesn't repair the damages in 10 days I'm taking him to court!).

So, now, I've called a student's uncle, who's a lawyer in our town and am waiting for HIS return call.

I think this house is cursed. On every occasion we've had to contract out on the house for one reason or another, we've been screwed and had to get a lawyer. WHY?????

I just want this to GO AWAY!

 

[nootka]

Did the guy have a license or bond number? I would look it up and contact the attorney general in your state. I feel for you, this is awful.

Hopefully, somehow this man will have to pay.

Liz

 

[txminipinto]

Yes, he does. How would I go about contacting the Attorney General (seems like such a big step). I also have filed a complaint against him with the state houseing commission.

 

[minie812]

I would NOT consider it a big step to contact ATTNY. GEN. office that is what they are there for and if you can't get insurance THAT is putting YOUR home at risk all because of someone who doesn't give a rats ---- about you! Go after him NOW because it does take time to make it thru the system.

 

[txminipinto]

Ok, I'm totally stupid when it comes to these kind of things. So HOW do I contact the Attorney General?

 

[KanoasDestiny]

I've been to small claims court once, and it was for a dispute over a security deposit. We contacted the court and asked them how to go about doing it. In my case, we had to send a certified letter to the landlord stating that if the agreement wasn't settled in so-and-so days, we would pursue it in court. Whether they accepted or denied that letter was irrelevent...just as long as we could show that we sent it and they had a chance to accept it. In my case, they did accept the letter, but the matter was not resolved. Secondly, we had to serve them with the court papers. We had the chance to hire a deputy to do it, or we could have a friend do it (like serving divorce papers). We had a friend do it. Then we waited for our court date. Make sure if you go to small claims, that you have every piece of evidence that you can come up with (contracts, receipts, pictures, list of failed contact attempts, etc.) because these will be required to help your case. We went in prepared with all our documentation and pictures, and we won. I believe the landlord had two weeks to pay us the money back.

I forgot to add that once you and the other party appear for court, they will probably take you into a small room with an arbitration officer, and try to resolve the problem before you go before the judge.

 

[anita]

Ok, I'm totally stupid when it comes to these kind of things. So HOW do I contact the Attorney General?

Attorney General is in your county where the court, your tax office is. I would work in if I were you.

Anita

 

[Wee Mite Miniatures]

Pick up the phone, dial 411 and ask for the number of the Attorney General for your state.

As for small claims I used to handle a lot of them for the company I used to work for. It was simple in our state. Get a form from the court. Call them and they will mail one to you. Fill it out, mail it in according to the directions. It will be mailed back to you with a court date and a copy to the defendant. In our state we have a $2,000.00 limit. The fee to file used to be about $20.00. Not sure what it is now. Your court date would be a few months away.

Sometimes just a letter from a lawyer is enough to get some one to correct a problem.

 

[Whitestar]

In Texas, even if you win you will get a Judgement against the person, no money. You can file on their credit but the judgement can only be attached to real property. If he owns real estate he has to pay you before he can sell it. But you have to refile the judgement every 7 years or it drops off, & you have to hope they sell within that time period. It usually doesnt matter if they have a judgement against their credit, businesses still allow these people to borrow money, buy cars etc. I have thousands of dollars in judgements out from a past business that I won in court & get like $2.00-$10.00 a month payments. It took money out of my pocket to file against these people & serve them , & I won the cases, but still didnt get anything more than judgements.

If you are going to file, go to the courthouse to find out which court to file in & find out what you have to do ( usually send a certified demand letter) Remember to ask for court fees in your filing. You cant file for lost wages if you have to take time off & make sure that you have plenty of evidence, pictures before & after, detailed records of contacts with this person, phone calls time, who you spoke with etc.

I would recommend finding out if this mover is licensed, bonded & insured & file against that before taking them to small claims court. Good luck!

Debbie

PS I have enjoyed your articles in the Vet Magazines!

 

[Farmhand]

You could also do this.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_place...n_on_a_property

http://answers.uslegal.com/category.php?cId=128

 

[coopermini]

Carin we are in the construction business and have used one mover several times. He does a good job but he will never fix anything. Damage is usually minimal but his usual comment are "thats a carpenters job not mine". I'm thinking these guys must have the same business training. Hope you can get that worked out soon.

As for the insurance, many companies are looking to drop customers for any number of reasons. Manufactured homes are one that several have been droping. Many near us will not insure old houses (100+ years). Also one of my employees had to remove his wood stove to keep insurance last winter. He only used it for emergency heat to prevent pipes from freezing in power outage. Go figure.

Check with Texas Farm Bureau to see what the insurance company they are working with will do to help you for coverage. They are more inclined to cover a broader range of housing types.

Mark

 

[Cedar Ridge Farm]

Carin,

Sounds like you have been having a rough time! If you need me to make a few calls or look something up, just holler at me. You know how to get my number......With all the other crapola (we both know what I am referreing to) and now this, you need a break.

I'm just a phone call away if you need me*

Peggy

 

[AppyLover2]

Sometimes just notification that they're being taken to court will solve the problem. It did for me several years ago, then the dippy broad (formerly a friend of mine) had the gall to thank me for taking them (or threatening to take them) to court.

Will the maximum amount you're able to get in small claims court be enough to cover damages? You might want to find out what that amount is in your state before you decide not to get a lawyer involved. Also you should consider reporting him to the Better Business Bureau. Good luck!!

 

[txminipinto]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions and support!! I spoken with a couple lawyers already and am considering handling this myself. In the state of TX, the maximum is 10K and the estimate I have for repair is under 1K. I just need to get all of my paperwork and evidence together so that I can file. Wish me luck! It's time to pull out the big B%*# ^y girl panties!

 

[Boinky]

Carin,

everyone has given you good advice.. HOWEVER you need to file a complaint with your state Insurance commisioner for them dropping your house insurance on this as well! I'm not sure if your limitation has run out yet but USUALLY if you take it to the commissioner the insurance company will usually lose. We went through this with one of our properties. it's very easy to do. you will need to go tot he hearing and take some evidence with you, however the burden of proof will be on the insurance company's hands to prove they had just and adequate reasons for dropping you (which from what the commisioners told us is very few reasons!!) . We unfortunatly learned a very hard lesson on the first property that the same insurance company wanted to drop at that time. You have only like 30 or 60 days to file this complaint with the commisioner so HURRY and do it. You might be pleasantly surprised to get your insurance back quite easily! The commissioners work for the people not the insurance companies in regulating things.

Hillary