california small claims case with no performance?

[jill51]

I live in califronia (morro bay) and called a massage therapist (referred by a mutual friend), he sounded pleasant and I requested a massage.

The therapist showed up with dirty equipment, smelled and was 20 minutes late.

He also appeared possibly under the influence as he was unresponsive to some of my questions and his pupils appeared dialated.

I told him I was not interested in using his services and now he's threatening to sue me for his travel time.

He says if I don't compensate him for his lost and travel time to my house ($45), he will sue $125 for the full hour of massage, even though no massage was performed.

He never mentioned any cancelation policy when I called him but did mention $12.50 each way for travel time.

Does he have a case and can I countersue in small claims for time lost to defend this frivolous lawsuit?

Jill

 

[seniorjudge]

Q: Does he have a case and can I countersue in small claims for time lost to defend this frivolous lawsuit?

A: Maybe and yes.

 

[jill51]

seniorjudge

I found out the massage therapist was unlicensd by the police dept. to do off site massages and has no business license.

Would that have a large impact on my case or it depends on the judge?

JIll H.

 

[dcatz]

Q. I found out the massage therapist was unlicensd by the police dept. to do off site massages and has no business license. Would that have a large impact on my case or it depends on the judge?

A. One would expect it to favorably influence your case and the judge but, if it comes to that, go armed with all the documentary evidence that you can gather – a copy of the law(s), a certified list of licensed practitioners etc. Make it easy on the Court to quickly understand the requirements and the compliance default(s).
California doesn’t have a state license requirement. Licensing is done by the city and county, and the requirements can be different between a city and the county in which it is located. Chance are that the Court is not intimately familiar with either.
On the other hand, you might be able to save yourself the trouble by letting the therapist know in advance that you are aware of the requirements and know they weren’t met.