However, Adams was upset nobody told him the document was necessary for his cases to proceed to trial.
“This is ridiculous,” he said. “You mean all the times I came in to file these complaints, nobody could have told me about this?”
Adams said he couldn’t understand why the court’s clerks didn’t tell him to file the proper paper work.
“It’s more of a tracking device so people can’t hide behind a shell identity,” — he said
But court clerks are not allowed by law to give legal advice, including advising litigants on any additional paperwork that might be needed.
“It’s not their job,” Koening said. “They are clerks and they are not there to be your advisor.”
Filing a “fictitious name” declaration with the small claims clerk requires only a single form and two pieces of identification.
Adams will be allowed to re-file his claims and will have to return to court at a future date — after he proves the business belongs to him.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 9, 2002. Read the original PDF.