dry cleaner lost shirt

[quintcase]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California (Los Angeles)

The dry cleaner has lost my ~$100 shirt. He refused to compensate me, and said that at most he would give me $50 in dry cleaning credit. He claims that he is not responsible to pay me damages, as there is a "condition" on the back of the receipt that I got after I completed the transaction that reads:
"The company's liability with respect to any lost or damaged article shall not exceed 10 times our charge for processing it".

He also repeatedly said that he did not lose the shirt, but one of his employees made a mistake in tagging the shirt which has resulted to the loss of the shirt. I received a phone call (voice mail) from the employee whom he was referring to a day after I talked to the manager saying that his boss did not give him any shirt in the first place though (I have kept the voice mail).

Also, I have made a total of 3 trips to the dry cleaner to get my shirt back (the extensive talk between me and the manager mentioned above happened in the 3rd trip). The 2nd time that I went there, he was not in the store and his wife answered me and told me to come back later when her husband is in the store. I asked her what would happen if my shirt is lost, and she said that her husband will compensate you if the item is lost.

I have 3 questions:

1) How much do you think I should sue the dry cleaner for my $100 shirt, given that I have made 3 trips to the dry cleaner and the shirt has had sentimental value for me (it was my ex-gf favorite shirt, and it was the shirt that she saw me in when I first met her)? How can I review similar cases to see how much people usually sue for such cases?

2) Will the fact that the dry cleaner wife mentioned that his husband is going to compensate me for the loss shirt help me in court? How can I prove that she said the statement mentioned above if the manager (or owner) refuses it?

3) I have heard that the dry cleaner is owned by a few people, and the person I talked to is one of the owners (he works there full time and is the manager). Is it cruisal for me to find his name (this is very hard for me) and file his name as the defendant, or is it enough if I simply put down the dry cleaner store name?


Thanks a lot for your help.

[FlyingRon]

Shirt? Now if it had been pants you could have sued for $65 Million.

You're not going to get sentimental value reimbursed. The shirt is not valued at even the price you paid for it, but what it was worth at the time it was taken in to the store. The disclaimer of liability for more than ten times the cleaning price is something you'll have to deal with in court.

You sue the establishment not the employees.

[BL]

Depending on how you can prove the shirt is even worth over $100.00s,how old the shirt is -how many times it was cleaned and worn , the time and effort to be compensated more that $100.00 in court , you may just want to take the 50 bucks and ask if the run across it if you can have it back , also.

If your an attorney , you could represent your self and sue for 65 mill. make the family poor and miserable , and lose in the end .

[racer72]

Go find the same or similar shirt at Goodwill. Notice the price. That will be the fair market value for the shirt and that is the most you will get if you sue and win. Your time and sentimental value don't mean squat.

[justalayman]

The dry cleaner has lost my ~$100 shirt.

aprox $100 new cost or current value? I am guessing original cost.

He refused to compensate me, and said that at most he would give me $50 in dry cleaning credit.

make up your mind. An offer of $50 cleaning credit is compensation. Not what you may want but it is an offer of compensation.

He claims that he is not responsible to pay me damages, as there is a "condition" on the back of the receipt that I got after I completed the transaction that reads:
"The company's liability with respect to any lost or damaged article shall not exceed 10 times our charge for processing it".

well, what did he charge you to process it? From the numbers you tossed out, I would think maybe $5. 10 times that is $50. See how that works? The only problem is; even the ticket does not state it is in a store credit. Go ask for the $50 in cash and all will be well in the world.

He also repeatedly said that he did not lose the shirt, but one of his employees made a mistake in tagging the shirt which has resulted to the loss of the shirt.

irrelevant if he or his employee lost the shirt. It was not returned to you after you presented it to the store. How or why is not your concern, only his. He can deal with his employee after he takes care of your situation.

I received a phone call (voice mail) from the employee whom he was referring to a day after I talked to the manager saying that his boss did not give him any shirt in the first place though (I have kept the voice mail).

irrelevant. You gave "the store" the shirt. You have a claim check, you are good.

Also, I have made a total of 3 trips to the dry cleaner to get my shirt back (the extensive talk between me and the manager mentioned above happened in the 3rd trip). .

You don't expect him to live there do you?

I have 3 questions:

I counted question marks. You have 5 questions (following)

1) How much do you think I should sue the dry cleaner for my $100 shirt, given that I have made 3 trips to the dry cleaner and the shirt has had sentimental value for me (it was my ex-gf favorite shirt, and it was the shirt that she saw me in when I first met her)?

10 times the cost of processing the shirt. You accept the limitation when you took the shirt there witnessed by the ticket you have in your hand.

How can I review similar cases to see how much people usually sue for such cases?

Go to the law library and look for pertinent laws and citations. Then research the citations.

2) Will the fact that the dry cleaner wife mentioned that his husband is going to compensate me for the loss shirt help me in court?

No. He did offer to compensate you. You just didn't like the offer. She offered nothing he did not offer.

How can I prove that she said the statement mentioned above if the manager (or owner) refuses it?

Put the wife on the stand. Point 12 5000 watt lights at her. Make her sit there for an hour or two and then walk up to her and say (in a very loud and menacing voice):

DID YOU TELL ME YOUR HUSBAND WOULD COMPENSATE ME FOR MY SHIRT???

I suggest the answer will be:

yes.

3) I have heard that the dry cleaner is owned by a few people, and the person I talked to is one of the owners (he works there full time and is the manager). Is it cruisal for me to find his name (this is very hard for me) and file his name as the defendant, or is it enough if I simply put down the dry cleaner store name?

any name you have would be a good idea. It won't be a deal killer if you do not know his name.

[quintcase]

Thanks a lot for your answers. I appreciate it.

Here are some additional information that you asked for:
I have had the shirt for ~2 months. My purchase price of the shirt is $100, I still have the receipt of my purchase (this is the discount price that I paid for the shirt, the actual value before discount may have been higher). I had worn the shirt on 2 or 3 different occasions, and it was the first time that it was being dry cleaned. The dry cleaning cost for the shirt was $1.25 so according to the back of the receipt, he needs to compensate me for $12.5.
I have 3 pictures of the shirt that I took in a club where I was wearing the shirt about a month ago.
The manager/owner of the drycleaner, did not deny that his wife promised me to get my money back when I talked to him. But he said that his wife doesn't know anything about the business and has made a mistake.

I was thinking of suing the dry cleaner for ~$500, which I calculated as follows:

Shirt price: $100 (price that I have on the receipt of the shirt)
3 phone conversation with the dry cleaner: $20
3 trips to the dry cleaner (and extensive talk with the manager/owner): $40
cost of borrowing a similar shirt from a friend to use: $65
Sentimental/emotional cost: $300


- Does the above price make sense?
- Will I be compensated for a fraction of the price above if the judge thinks I am suing for too much, or will I completely lose the case and get nothing if the amount is "too high"?

[Zigner]

Originally Posted by quintcase

Thanks a lot for your answers. I appreciate it.

Here are some additional information that you asked for:
I have had the shirt for ~2 months. My purchase price of the shirt is $100, I still have the receipt of my purchase (this is the discount price that I paid for the shirt, the actual value before discount may have been higher). I had worn the shirt on 2 or 3 different occasions, and it was the first time that it was being dry cleaned. The dry cleaning cost for the shirt was $1.25 so according to the back of the receipt, he needs to compensate me for $12.5.
I have 3 pictures of the shirt that I took in a club where I was wearing the shirt about a month ago.
The manager/owner of the drycleaner, did not deny that his wife promised me to get my money back when I talked to him. But he said that his wife doesn't know anything about the business and has made a mistake.

I was thinking of suing the dry cleaner for ~$500, which I calculated as follows:

Shirt price: $100 (price that I have on the receipt of the shirt)
3 phone conversation with the dry cleaner: $20
3 trips to the dry cleaner (and extensive talk with the manager/owner): $40
cost of borrowing a similar shirt from a friend to use: $65
Sentimental/emotional cost: $300


- Does the above price make sense?
- Will I be compensated for a fraction of the price above if the judge thinks I am suing for too much, or will I completely lose the case and get nothing if the amount is "too high"?

You're loony. Take the $50 and run! The max you're legally entitled to is $12.50!

[justalayman]

quintcase;2391236]


- Does the above price make sense?

no. Even if you were entitled to the additional value of the shirt (which you are not), you would definately not be entitled to all the other costs you want to include.

- Will I be compensated for a fraction of the price above if the judge thinks I am suing for too much, or will I completely lose the case and get nothing if the amount is "too high"?

the judge should award what you are due-$12.50. Sounds like you can get 4 times that amount by accepting the cleaners offer.

[quintcase]

He could have written that he is entitled to take all my possessions and kill me if he loses any item on the back of the receipt!! Does that mean that he can legally do that if he loses my shirt?
Also, he gave me the receipt AFTER I gave him the shirt, and did not tell me about his policy when I took the receipt. I didn't sing anywhere on the receipt, and there is also no sign in his store about this policy.

[Stevef]

Originally Posted by quintcase

I was thinking of suing the dry cleaner for ~$500, which I calculated as follows:

Shirt price: $100 (price that I have on the receipt of the shirt)
3 phone conversation with the dry cleaner: $20
3 trips to the dry cleaner (and extensive talk with the manager/owner): $40
cost of borrowing a similar shirt from a friend to use: $65
Sentimental/emotional cost: $300

You still have that little problem of the limitation of liability that you agreed to when you dropped off your shirt. If you did not agree, you should have left with your shirt instead of leaving it there.

I don't understand "cost of borrowing". Did you borrow it or rent it? Also, if the cost to wear a shirt one time is $60, your shirt only had $40 left after the first time you wore it.

If your shirt really had that much sentimental value, I doubt you would have left it in a store that limits their liability.

If I were the judge and saw you bringing in these outrageous 'damages', I would award $12.50 (exactly what was agreed to when you dropped off the shirt) and NOT award costs. Please note, however, that I am not a judge, and will not be hearing any cases in the foreseeable future.

[quintcase]

The cost of borrowing the shirt is the trip that I made to pick up the shirt (30 miles, round trip), plus the expensive meal that I bought for the friend to make him lend me his shirt.

[Zigner]

Originally Posted by quintcase

The cost of borrowing the shirt is the trip that I made to pick up the shirt (30 miles, round trip), plus the expensive meal that I bought for the friend to make him lend me his shirt.

Yep, definitely loony

[IsabellaSoriano]

Originally Posted by quintcase

The cost of borrowing the shirt is the trip that I made to pick up the shirt (30 miles, round trip), plus the expensive meal that I bought for the friend to make him lend me his shirt.

dude....seriously...NOT going to happen. not even judge judy gets that crazy.

[Stevef]

Originally Posted by quintcase

The cost of borrowing the shirt is the trip that I made to pick up the shirt (30 miles, round trip), plus the expensive meal that I bought for the friend to make him lend me his shirt.

From "Hadley v Baxendale", holding that Baxendale could only be held liable for losses that were generally foreseeable, or if Hadley had mentioned his special circumstances in advance.

That will pretty much wipe out everything except the actual cash value of the shirt.

It also seems that you were presented with the limit of liability BEFORE they lost your shirt, and you were still standing in their store.

[Stevef]

Originally Posted by IsabellaSoriano

dude....seriously...NOT going to happen. not even judge judy gets that crazy.

But Judge Roy Pearson does.