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.
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.