Advice On How To Present A Case In Small Claims Court?

Question

My Construction Co did some work at a new restrauant (Greek) that just opened in our community. When we was done the owner said he did not have the money to pay us. Agreed to a payment plan and now the owner wants us to more work for him in order to receive the remaining balance on previous work. I refused and now he refuses to pay for the work done. Filed small claim in court - Now I have to prove my case - I have never done this before. Open to suggestions. Thanks

Answer 1

The most important evidence you have is written records or contracts.

Did the restaurant owner sign a contract with you for an agreed-upon price? If not, your case will be harder to prove.

Is the restaurant owner insisting on more work because he considers it "remedial work"? In other words, is he dissatisfied with something, and wants you to correct it?

Without precise, written contracts it is hard to prove what was promised, and what price was agreed upon.

If you had business associates present during the initial negotiation for material and labor charges, make sure they come to court. Otherwise, it will be your word against his.

The problem is, the burden of proof is really upon you. Even if you show some preponderance of evidence, unless it is quite conclusive, the judge may simply say you didn't prove your case. It's aggravating, but unless you can show that the defendent is in material breach of contract, the judge may not consider it prudent to award you anything, ESPECIALLY IF the defendent claims your work was substandard. Now comes the hard part. You are put on the defensive, having to prove that you adequately performed the work as agreed to.

Make sure you have all your contracts, invoices, and sundry documents. Did the restaurant owner have to sign off as successive stages of the job were completed? Did he sign anything that indicated he acknowledges the job is finished, and he is satisfied with the work? This is crucial.

I don't want to overly concern you, but I have seen judges who were obviously in the pocket of the defendent because his lawyer was some friend or colleague of the judge.

If you are allowed to direct questions at the defendent, my advice is to use the tag line, "isn't that true?" For example, you could ask him, "We finished the construction on October 22, and you signed a note of acknowledgement that the work had been satisfactorily completed. Isn't that true?"

He will have a harder time lying because, if he says no, he will have to explain his position. If he did indeed sign off on the work, you can then force him to prove that the work was somehow deficient in some way.

Remember these steps:

1) Be very organized. Have all the papers ready, and note the CHRONOLOGICAL order of what happened. Judges get impatient if you are a disorganized mess, and he may abruptly end the questioning and render a verdict. They can be quite autocratic.

2) Make sure than any employee who was witness to the events is in court to provide substantiation of what you claim is true.

3) Appeal to common sense. If the owner says the work is bad, why would he let you leave? Wouldn't he have confronted you while you were still on the job site? Make his arguments look like attempts to distort the truth.

Answer 2

Well, first off, get any contracts or documents you have in order. Any verbal testimony or contracts are going to be flimsy, most likely thrown out as all the defendant has to do is say otherwise, and then it's hearsay. This should be pretty open and shut: get your contract, and invoices, show the remaining balance you expect to be paid. If the defendant has any receipts, they can present them and the judge will decide what is owed as payment (if anything).

Answer 3

I'm sure the judge will be very helpful - in my experience, they do their best to make sure pro se litigants (people without attorneys) have access to full justice. I'd say the best thing you can do is to have EVERYTHING documented. Perhaps even a time line summarizing the dates of work, documents, amounts due, etc.

Have you filed a mechanics lien?