GAVEL TO GAVEL, from page 5
Charges of elderly abuse brought against the owner of Mar Vista Roofing Company by an 82-year old Santa Monica woman were denied by a judge last week.
Lil Vonlossberg failed to prove she was abused by Patrick Farrell and was ordered to pay the contractor treble damages on the $85 roof repair job he performed in September.
Volossberg told the court she mistakenly paid the contractor with a check from a closed account. When the check bounced and Farrell returned to collect payment, Vonlossberg said he suddenly grew violent.
“He was abusing me and cussing at me and kicking my furniture,” Vonlossberg testified, who later decided not to pay for his work, telling the court she doubted Farrell had performed the job at all.
“He came over, went up the ladder, came down and said I owed him $85,” said Vonlossberg, who claimed her handyman did the work, not Farrell. “(Farrell’s) charging me for something he didn’t do.”
But Farrell told a different story.
He said he went to Vonlossberg’s property and spent nearly an hour personally repairing a crack to her roof. When Vonlossberg’s $85 check bounced, Farrell said he returned to find a confused and rambling woman.
“She was arguing with herself, saying, ‘You don’t think I can’t pay this? I have more money than you,’” Farrell said. “Then suddenly she said, ‘I’m not going to pay you a dime.’”
Four days later, Vonlossberg told Farrell’s secretary she had no intention of paying the $85 bill and challenged the contractor to sue her, Farrell testified.
Not only did Farrell file a $1,000 lawsuit, he also filed a lien on Vonlossberg’s property. Farrell later conceded he was actually only owed $475.26, an amount he reached by adding treble damages on the bounced check to costs he said his company incurred while trying to contact Vonlossberg.
“If ever there was a pin-up case for treble damages, this is it,” Farrell said. Angered at the way she had been treated, Vonlossberg counter-sued the contractor for $5,000 for elderly abuse.
“He said he’s going to take everything I own,” Vonlossberg told the court. “I got so nervous I could sit down and cry. I don’t need this.”
Commissioner Donna Groman, after taking the matter under submission, found in favor of Farrell for $255 plus court costs, exactly three times the amount of the bounced check.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 16, 2002. Read the original PDF.