posted on January 22, 2006 08:52:46 AM new
Are we talking about an eBay issue?
Never tried it.
I really never thought that whole "your bid is a binding contract" thing would stand up in a real court. Anyone experience that differently?
Dr. Arcane, revelator of mystical secrets
http://www.drarcane.com
Got questions about the secrets of the universe?
[ edited by DrArcane on Jan 22, 2006 08:53 AM ]
posted on January 22, 2006 09:04:08 AM new
Well, if you call those TV judge shows real small claims court, I've seen it go both ways. I've seen sellers have to give back money for selling a bad product and buyers have to give back merchandise or pay up. However, most of the shows deal with ripoffs and people getting merchandise without paying (charge backs, etc.) and not someone changing their mind. I never thought what eBay calls a contract would hold up in court. I still don't think it would.
Cheryl
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." - Martin Luther King, Jr.
posted on January 22, 2006 09:07:15 AM new
No,I am not talking about Ebay ,I am not talking about TV shows,I am talking about real life experience of someone taking a person or a business to small claims court,with or without a lawyer.
/ lets all stop whining !! /
If it's not eBay related, then you probably should take it to the RT, which is why I kept my post eBay related.
I've never been to small claims court, but know a couple of people who have. The only court I've been in is traffic court when my son got a curfew ticket (the little devil).
Cheryl
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." - Martin Luther King, Jr.
posted on January 22, 2006 09:16:51 AM new
The Round table discussion gets detoured when individuals seize any discussion as a chance to attack his foes on political issues.
/ lets all stop whining !! /
posted on January 22, 2006 10:15:38 AM new
Many years ago (like 8 or 9) we took one of my husbands ex bosses to small claims. They got into a pissing contest at work one day and the hubby walked off the job ,construction by the hour type job.That Friday when he went to pick up his pay check,I guess the butt head thought he'd get the last word in and took 250.00 out the last check for a saw he said my husband broke and to repay someone else for to re-do a door frame that my husband supposedly did wrong the first time...neither were true. We had a friend that knows alot about these type things that helped us fill out the paper work for small claims court.It cost 30.00 to file the claim and about 2-3 weeks before it came to court. We won the 250.00 back plus court cost and a extra 50.00 because the judge thought the boss wasted his time making us come to court in th first place. We had a couple of witnesses to say the saw was fine when he walked off the job and since my husband worked by the hour and not by the job he could not take money away for work he wasn't happy with ...plus the witness said the work wasn't re-done the boss made it up so he had a reason to take money out the hubby's check and was laughing about.The look on the old bosses face when he lost was better than getting the money back
posted on January 22, 2006 11:01:58 AM new
In Miami, they actually have seminars on how to go to Small Claims Court. If you are in the right and have the proof, I would go without an attorney and stand up for yourself. I won a case about 15 years ago this way. The other gal had 2 attorneys and paid a bunch. Hell, the judge was even advising me on how to handle it and also told me NOT to discuss the case with her attorney.
posted on January 22, 2006 11:15:23 AM new
You can't take any attorney to small claims court, it is between you and the other party.
I took a landlord several years ago and I won so to speak, they had to give my deposit back because they did not have a "no smoking" clause in the rental agreement, so their painting after I moved out was on their dime not mine.
Make sure you have everyting with you, pictures, documents etc. Hardest part is getting the other party served.
Ron
"I'm so depressed. My doctor refused to write me a
prescription for Viagra. He said it would be like putting
a new flagpole on a condemned building."
posted on January 22, 2006 12:14:18 PM new
In Texas,you can have an attorney with you .
But the claim has to be under 5k,so most people dont hire an attorney,but if you are suing a business,it could have lawyer on retainer .
Serving a business is not difficult,they are open from 10 to 5 pm,7 days a week.
/ lets all stop whining !! /
posted on January 22, 2006 12:28:59 PM new
Twenty \five years ago, I used to be in Small Claims Court at least twice a month collecting on Outpatient bills at the hoaspital where I was administrator. At that time the limit was $2500.00 & on MN you could not bring a lawyer into court.
Life Is Too Short To Drink Bad Wine
posted on January 22, 2006 12:32:15 PM new
Serving a corporation is extremely difficult. You have to check with the Secretary Of State's office to see who the agent for process serving is and serve it to that person only in most states. Some states will allow service upon a corporate officer, but not all will. In California, lawyers are not allowed in small claims actions. The reason is to make it accessable equally to everyone. My experience has been that the small guy has an edge over a business if he has a well documented and prepared case. Most Ebayers will not have occasion to use small claims unless the buyer and seller are both in the same state. However, if the buyer and seller are in different states, a collection agency is the best bet. They can do the small claims proceeding on your behalf if it becomes necessary.
If Murphy's law is correct, everything East of the San Andreas Fault will slide into the Atlantic
posted on January 22, 2006 01:29:52 PM new
This has nothing to do with Ebay,the agent is also the owner of the retail stores,he has two stores.
True,if the defendant brings his lawyer and the plaintiff does not,the plaintiff may have a disadvantage.
Also most cases can be settled thru mediation.
/ lets all stop whining !! /
posted on January 22, 2006 02:49:34 PM new
I'd have to disagree on the "hardest part" comment. The hardest part, usually, is getting the other person to pay you when you win.
We successfully sued a contractor (who hasn't wanted to do that?) who really screwed up our kitchen renovation.
We won - 2 separate suits (because he had us sign 2 contracts according to how he wanted the work separated) - and now we're in the process of getting the $16K back that we have the judgments for...
We had 60+ photos of the work that needed corrected and blew away the district justice on the details we provided.
It cost us $190 to file the cases - and we logged it against our "entertainment" budget so that we didn't expect to get anything back for it - it was more for the satisfaction (thus, "entertainment" - but now it looks like we'll actually have an opportunity to get the money - which will make me very happy...
posted on January 22, 2006 03:03:07 PM new
Nope. Actually it's a funny story...
Showed up on the appropriate day and wait to go into the courtroom. Wife and I sit for about 15 minutes and in walks the contractor (alone). Wait another 15 minutes and no one comes in...
I go out and ask the clerk at the counter and she wonders aloud why I'm there, because the case was supposed to be "continued" because the contractor had filed a "notice of intent to defend."
She tells me I'll receive a new date in the mail -- and the contractor comes up behind me and asks: "Will I get one of those, too?"
The district justice just happened to be there and asks: "You're both here?"
We both said we were ready to go and he just heard the case -- lasted all of about 20 minutes for us to present all the supporting documents, photos, etc.
The DJ was also impressed that we were able to provide a copy of everything we were submitting into evidence to the defendant. If I weren't able to do that, we couldn't enter it into evidence. (So, if you're planning a visit to Small Claims Court - be prepared and bring 3 copies of everything - one for you, one for the judge and one for the defendant)...
posted on January 22, 2006 03:12:49 PM new
thanks,I will do that.
But why did the contractor not bring a lawyer for that kind of money??
/ lets all stop whining !! /
posted on January 22, 2006 04:20:14 PM new
In PA, it's $8K in Small Claims. We had 2 suits both heard at the same time (one right after the first).
In PA, you CAN'T bring an attorney. I guess you could, but they would have no standing at the hearing and the DJ would probably frown on allowing any discussion between you and the attorney. So, unless you enjoy paying someone for moral support, you wouldn't bring an attorney.
That being said, it's a smart thing to get advice from an attorney before going forth on your own. We have a Pre-Paid Legal attorney we refer to on a pretty regular basis -- had them review our consignment contracts, etc. and they also send out really effective demand letters, too (all paid for on a monthly retainer of less than $40).
[ edited by DrArcane on Jan 22, 2006 08:53 AM ]
- but now it looks like we'll actually have an opportunity to get the money - which will make me very happy...