Property damage by laminate installer

[SSEEBEE]

I signed a contract with a national carpet/tile chain local franchise(in florida) to install wood laminate throughout my house. During the installation I requested a store representative to be present to supervise the job because I could not. The owners of the store used their favorite installers to perform the service. During the course of the installation, one of my couches was damaged (a hole). I noticed it three days after installation and notified the store. Currently, I have placed two calls to the store owner and his associate. They have given the installer my phone number and he hasn't called me to discuss the damage. He did however call the store owner back to say he didn't do the damage. The store claims that they have met the terms of the contract and do not wish to have further involvement with me; that this is between me and the installer. Installer won't call me back. How should I proceed if I wish to pursue this in small claims court? Thanks, S

 

[JETX]

Since your contract is with the local franchise, they are the ones that you go after. In fact, based on your post, it appears that there is NO contractual obligation between you and the installer, only with the franchise and that the installer was working as an 'agent' of the franchisor.

Some things to consider:
1) You are going to have to be able to support your claim that they or their agent (the installer) actually did the damage. Can you do that???
2) You will have to determine what your damages are. Contact a local upholsterer and get an estimate of costs of repair.
3) Be careful on how you 'style' your lawsuit. You will need to determine if the franchise (you contracted with) is a corporation or a proprietorship. If a corporation, contact the state dept of Corporate Records (or similar) and get the name of their "Agent for Service", he is the ONLY person allowed to accept legal process and you need to serve on him. If a proprietorship, contact your county business records folks and make sure you serve on the owner (ex: Robert Smith, individually and d/b/a Smith Carpet).