small claims court date

[Darcy Prock]

What is the name of your state? Maine

We operate a small landscaping business. A business customer cancelled the use of our services halfway through the season this past year and refused to pay the bill that had been incurred up until that point. After many attempts to contact the business owner through mail, phone and visits to the workplace, we were forced to take the matter to small claims court.

The business owner now claims that she has been threatened, terrorized, harassed and extorted and is requesting dismissal of the case. Although nothing was ever said during the 1 1/2 years of service to her (both business property and personal property), she now claims that the service provided was only marginally acceptable and overpriced. All of this was quite a surprise, since she even called at one point during the business relationship to compliment the work!

We are quite sure that the case will not be dismissed without being heard, but with the venom in her motion for dismissal brief (which was just mailed to us), we are a little apprehensive about what the court day may go like. Likely, she is just trying to intimidate us into dropping the case.

Any advise on what we should have with us as we go into court would be greatly appreciated. Also, since she has accused us of extortion and terrorist acts against her, would it be possible to sue her for libel??

Thanks so much for your help!

 

[Crispix]

I'm a small business owner myself and have been through a similar situation, albeit in California.

Here's what I did to prepare for small claims court:

1. Have a SHORT summary of what the defendant owes you and why. Don't mention how rude they were on the phone, don't talk about how hard it was to serve them, etc. It's a matter of why they owe you money, period. Include a list/index of all your supporting documents (ehibit A, exhibit B, etc) and what each one proves. In your case, you should show a history of work performed and payments received, and then show the work that was performed and not paid for. Include contracts, work orders, collection attempts, and everything else appropriate.

2. Have all your supporting documents organized with big post-it notes on each front page that state which exhibit they refer to. Don't confuse the judge -- if you have a lot of supporting documents, bring them all, but just summarize them for the judge on the top sheet I mentioned above and then tack the full set of documents to the back and label everything.

3. Have three copies of everything. One for you, one for the judge, and one for the defendant.

Here's how it went for me:

Judge: Give me your documents. Why does the defendant owe your money?

You: explain why. The judge will be flipping through your documents during this time. This is why your documents must be clear and precise and organized. She may ask questions.

Judge: Defendant, is this true? Why won't you pay?

Defendant: No, I don't owe any money. It was crappy service anyway. Blah blah blah.

You'll go back and forth like this one or two times, so prepare an argument against their most likely defenses.

And then you'll get your decision. The beauty of small claims court is that the judge is the one who knows the law and will apply it appropriately to your case -- you are not expected to be a lawyer. The downside of small claims court is that the parties involved tend to get caught up in the emotion of it all and forget this is simply of matter of why you were damaged and how much money you are owed.

Last item: sue her for libel? I'll let the lawyers on the forum respond, but honestly, were you really damaged by her comments? Who cares? It has no bearing on your case, IMO. You just want to get paid for the work you did, right?

 

[JETX]

I agree.