Most winners do their homework and come to court prepared
Word to the aggrieved, downtrodden and betrayed: Make sure you do your homework before going to small claims court.
Most Santa Monica judge pro tems will tell you that when the time comes for your day in court, you’ll only have a few minutes to prove your case. So you had better be prepared.
Hazel Williams Carter, co-owner of Maxx Salon, learned that last month after she and her business partners tried to collect money from former employee Bethanna Meneley. But pro tem judge Linda Wisotsky said the former massage therapist didn’t owe money to the salon even though it advertised Meneley’s services before she quit and the ad material was circulated.
Wisotsky also shot down Kimberly Valnes’ claim that she was owed money from boutique owner Rose Victorian after she tried to return merchandise. She couldn’t prove that there was a sign in the store that said all sales were final.
Pro tem judge Caroline Welch said often litigants in the small claims courtroom are emotional and don’t base their claims on substantial evidence.
Such was the case for Michael Ryan who claimed last week that his former landlord-roommate cost him to lose his job and didn’t give him enough time to vacate the apartment. Welch found no evidence to support his claims and denied the judgment.
“A lot of times people have all sorts of history with each other and they think they have a forum to vent,” she said. “You have to make sure you have your ducks in a row.”
To show just how emotional it can get, often times judges will tell litigants that they will take the “case under submission” and send the ruling in the mail just to avoid confrontation in the courtroom. Still, some judges will rule on the spot, but a bailiff from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office is always present.
It seems citizens have been emboldened by television shows like “People’s Court” and “Judge Judy,” as the Santa Monica Small Claims docket is chock full four days a week.
“It’s a slice of life,” said Judge Welch. “It is interesting, that is why there is five TV shows about it.”
Close to 30 people head to Santa Monica Small Claims Court each week to file their beefs.
If the complaint is for anything up to $5,000, it can be heard under small claims rules. Litigants represent themselves to the judge and it’s the only courtroom where lawyers aren’t allowed.
But basic rules of law still govern. Each case is decided not on “reasonable doubt” but on “preponderance,” which relies on who has the most convincing evidence.
670,“Some people think it’s small claims and it’s informal so they aren’t prepared,” said pro tem judge Richard Bloom, who is a lawyer practicing family law and is a Santa Monica City councilman. “You don’t get a lot of time so you have to use that time efficiently and can’t just go in there and say whatever you want.”
But just because you win your case doesn’t mean you’ll collect your money. It’s still up to the individual to collect the judgment.
“A deadbeat is still a deadbeat,” Bloom said. “That can be an issue even if you have a million dollar judgment.”
But judgments do end up on a person’s credit report — whether the judgment is for the plaintiff or the defendant.
That’s what Web designer Allen Compton is banking on. Compton won a $5,050 judgment last month against Voxicom, a Santa Monica-based automated voice mail and e-mail system provider.
The financially-strapped company only paid Compton half the bill for setting up the company’s Web site.
“It’s not clear if Voxicom will pay,” Compton said. “There is not a whole lot I can do as an individual so we’ll just see if Voxicom will do the right thing.”
Compton said the judgment may help him when the creditors come knocking on Voxicom’s door.
“It gives it more teeth when there is a judgment,” he said. “Otherwise, I’m the little guy over there yelling.”
When Wendy Patterson won her $400 judgment against a repairman for a faulty garbage disposal last week, she asked Judge Welch, “How do I collect the money?”
The only words of wisdom Welch could give the plaintiff was “This is just your first victory.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 20, 2002. Read the original PDF.