Judgement for the DEFENDENT ?!?!?!?!?! Basically in a nutshell it said we didn't meet our burden of proof. I find that EXTREMELY hard to believe, considering the defendents OWN documents nailed their ass to the wall. The paperwork went on to say the defendents provided substantial "exhibits" proving they did everything within their power to assure the laws were NOT broken. PUHLEASE!!! They made up those documents the nights before the case, I swear the ink was still fresh! I seriously thought we would AT LEAST win, with maybe a couple hundred bucks for after Christmas shopping. It was a learning experience that I will not do again.
I am sorry Kelly but be proud that you went through with it. Alot of us here do not have the guts to do that much, myself included.
I really think it depends on the state you live in! If I lived in FL such as Lizard I would say ... hell yeah go for it! BUT... personally.. would NOT do the small claims route in SC NOR would I suggest anyone else try it. I've had personal friends (who are attorneys) tell me that it would be a BIG battle thats not favorable for the consumer. KHM.. I'm sorry that things didn't turn out in your favor. Live and learn...
Nodding, KHM, I'm sorry too :-( I'm really sorry that the lower court judges don't understand, care, or feel the need to do some research before making their rulings. Shame on them! Sassy
Anyone have a feel for how CA small claims courts treat similar situations? I understand that CA is a consumer friendly state from a legislative standpoint but I'd like to know what experiences people have had in CA small claims courts. (And even better yet, is there an advantage to filing in a major city vs. a county out in BFE?) Sorry your experience in SC didn't go well.
Do you think his decision was based on the law?? If not then I would appeal it in a heartbeat. Some small claims judges are unfamiliar with FCRA/FDCPA type cases, because of this they may base their decision on other factors instead of what the law actually states. Whenever I go to court to show up for a hearing I always bring what I call "Judge's copies of the law" that means I have a copy of the FCRA and FDCPA to furnish to him for review. Luckily the court I use the judge is very well versed on the law as he practices private law as well. If you feel the law says XXX and the judge did the opposite then you have excellent grounds to appeal it. Just a thought to help you out! BTW do not give up!! 99% of all of my cases are settled outside of court. A lawsuit is a very powerful thing to use against someone. I would appeal those bastards just to have them show up again. Tac
You will almost always lose in small claims. Heck, I plan on losing my experian case in small claims. The magistrates are not even real judges and do not understand consumer law. IT is the appeal where we have a chance. You should appeal the decision.
Picantel, I don't understand why you think your chance is better on appeal. Nationally, something like 70% of cases appealed are denied. You're a lot better off taking your best shot the first time and not saving anything for an appeal.
Some small claims courts ruling is FINAL, there is no appeal. considering the facts, I think I'm leaning towards filing in state court instead of 'small claims' court if and when I file against my 'enemies'.... 1.) Judge instead of Magistrate 2.) Right to Appeal 3.) possibility of higher award 4.) doesn't cost much more
The paper makes NO mention of appealing. I don't have the energy to, I filed this lawsuit 1/24/02, almost a year isn't worth the aggravation. I realized what went wrong: Instead of filing for "FDCPA violations" I filed for SPECIFIC sections of the FDCPA, when I went into court those SPECIFIC violations I didn't have enough ammo, a little but not enough. The NEW violations (they caused since I filed) I had a boat load and THOUGHT since I was already there I would bring those up. My problem was I spent too much time on these new violations and not enough time on what I ACTUALLY filed on. Did that make any sense? Don't be specific on a CA lawsuit. When the paper says "Reason for lawsuit" just write FDCPA/FCRA violations, not "they violated section XXX two times".
Kellie, My take is a bit different. I think you had 3 problems. First of all, you did owe the debt and in fact paid it. Secondly, you had no money damages and finally, as I recall there was a couple of years passage of time on a couple of allegations before you filed. The judge probably figured this was just an attempt to cause the CA some inconvenience and ruled accordingly.
cause of action should have read: 'willful and negligent violations of 15 U.S.C.A. 1681 et. seq.' to cover then entire FCRA and all it's sections. but I'm not a liar -- oops, I mean lawyer
On my state's small claims form you must list the statutes you are suing under if you are suing under a specific law. I couldn't just put violations of FCRA and FDCPA, they wouldn't accept it. As for appealing, I know it is different in every state but in my state both the defendant and plaintiff have a right to appeal the decision in 30 days of small claims ruling. If either party appeals and for whatever reason, the case is then moved up to the court of common pleas or known as District Court and a whole new trial is granted as if you just filed the case there to begin with. You can then have it heard in front of a judge and jury!! You can then ask for specific and ask that the judge order certian actions....like order deletion of an account listing from a cra. This is why I ALWAYS start out in small claims and ALWAYS would appeal any ruling against me to the higher court. I should also mention that when I go to court I usually have them nailed with an inch of paperwork and documents to leave no doubt at all. The best book on the market is called....Everybody's guide to small claims court, this book is worth its weight in gold and has paid for itself a thousand times over. I would reccomend anyone considering a suit to get it from www.nolo.com Tac
Tac, I have a situation w/ a CA reporting 22 accts. I'm at the court point, been through everything, including amending my settlement agreement to "pay me nothing and delete, and I'll get off your back". I have 3 violations against them and I want to go to district court, but the courts are telling me I have to go small claims......help! demoncasterouter@yahoo.com Thanks!
you should have ammended your complaint prior to trial... the word is spelled "DEFENDANT"........ somehow I don't think that this outcome is a negative reflection on our court systems...
last time you told us you had an attorney who calculated actual damages by subtracting tje price of the car that you actually got ($3K) from the price of the car that you would have gotten ($18K)... is this another CA reporting 22 accounts? wow, that's a lot of tradelines!
