Suing home improvement contractor in small claims court (pro se). How to prepare?

[love2travelnyc]

I am suing a home improvement contractor in small claims court, pro se. He took a 50% deposit and did a very, very small portion of the job. I have copies of correspondence where it should clearly show that I tried to reach him, tried to work with him, and he promised over and over that he would come to do the work but never did.

Looking for suggestions on the best way to prepare the case and even an outline of what points to cover.

How much detail will a small claims judge/magistrate be looking for?

 

[army judge]

You need to prove that you contracted this person to perform specific work at an agreed upon price.

You paid him.

He was to complete the work on a specific date or within a certain timeframe.

You'll have to show you paid him and that he failed to perform or under performed.

If you've paid someone else to complete the work, that is a recoverable expense.

You can have the new contractor testify as to what the deadbeat didn't do. How the new contractor had to correct his work or do his work.

It is very simple. You tell a story and provide proof.

It isn't a murder trial. You simply need to prove your losses.

 

[army judge]

The hard part isn't proving the case in court.
The hard part is collecting your judgment if you prevail.
Most people get their judgment.
They never get their money.
Small claims ends up costing you more, because you lose your amount in dispute and have to pay the court for a useless piece of paper.
Small claims sets high expectations.
Yet, most plaintiffs never get a dime.
It isn't like on Judge Judy where you walk out with a check.
You walk out of small claims with a useless piece of paper.
You also end up dropping another $100-200 (depending on where you live, maybe more); to the court!!!

 

[love2travelnyc]

Thanks for the info. Yes I figure I will get a judgement against him. I filed in his district, which is, I understand, a bit easier to collect. I have the signed and countersigned proposal. I have before and after photos. I have emails of many times I tried to reach him and others documenting our conversation. I have a 30 day demand letter terminating the agreement asking for $ back. I have copies of the cancelled check. That should be sufficient to prove I paid him and he did not perform.

Do i need to drag my new contractor into court to testify as to what he did, or would his contract suffice?

Once/If i have a judgement - how can I collect? Do I need to try to prove he's working somewhere and getting paid? His wife works, so that could be a potential source of funds.
Thanks again.

 

[army judge]

Getting a judgment is much easier than collecting.
His wife's income can't be levied against.

If you get a judgment it'll be against him or his business.
If he's incorporated, you've really got problems.
Even when you get a judgment, in most jurisdictions some of his assets are off limits. You've got to research for your state.

You also have to sue in the right small claims court, not just the one convenient to you!

Do your research.

As I tried to warn you, small claims is very disappointing and frustrating. It promises much, delivers little.

If you can get your new contractor to testify, it'll help your case.

 

[love2travelnyc]

Fortunately he's not incorporated. I also found out that he's not licensed, so he may even get his hand slapped for that.

Any suggestions on how to research in MA which assets may come into play? Or which small claims court is the right one? I have already filed and have a court date.

Thank you for the warning about difficulty in collecting. He probably knows that.

If I get my new contractor to testify, should I offer to compensate him or is that a conflict of interest? In Small Claims court - would the witness(es) listen to the whole case or sit outside until they are called? I guess I need to go and hang out to listen in on small claims cases. Thanks again.

 

[auditboy]

Contractor will not fix my doors

The first day they sent Ed. Ed, the carpenter, did not have a hammer and had to borrow mine. Ed had no vacuum cleaner or a step stool and had to borrow mine. Ed had had no garbage can to remove the demo..yes he borrowed mine. The most disrespectful part was he decided not to clean the vacuum cleaner and the step stool off once the was done. Ed also had to leave to go to Home depot twice and left two oil stains spots on the driveway. Ed installed two pocket doors that squeaked and they were uneven as well as the hardware. Once he pulled off the visqueen, he pulled some paint off the wall. Ed messed with the electrical and caused a power outaged for the rest of the night and early morning. Rick called in a real electrician to fix the problem. After the sheet rock went up. Myself and a few friends noticed the doors were not centered.

Through-out this project, Rick was notified about everything through email along with pictures. Rick did not look at the pictures before our last face to face meeting. Rick believes his employee Ed that I wanted the doors off centered.Really? No compensation was given for Ed's actions nor an apology for what Ed did that whole day. Rick did say "I won't notice the doors are off centered by football season". Rebozzi did fix the pocket doors, finished the trim, adjusted the hardware and paid for the eletrician to come in and fix electrical. In which they should have because we did not have contract. They tried to make it right but came up short. I did pay them and wrote final payment on the check instead of under durest. No contract was signed. I still want the doors fixed and willing to go to small claim court get compensation. Am I wasting my time?

 

[mightymoose]

Am I wasting my time?

Probably. The cost of simply getting the doors fixed versus the time and effort put into court over something so petty should make it much easier to just pay someone else to do the job right and be done with it.