[ShrimpBurrito]

ANOTHER UPDATE:

The repair shop appealed the case.

Apparently, in small claims, you need not any grounds to do so. You just need to file for appeal and pay the fee.

So back to court we went for round #2. I couldn't believe it. I tried to put myself in their shoes and think of a reason why they would appeal, but I couldn't think of any. I dug a little into the company management, and it turns out the company was at one time owned by brothers. And they sued each other. So perhaps their egos play a bit too much in their business decisions.

In any event, the appeal hearing was a trial de novo, meaning we started all over, and nothing from the first hearing was considered. I presented the case exactly as I did before, and this time, they said they did not dispute liability, but rather just the amount of the repair cost. After that, the judge wrapped things up quickly, and a few days later, I learned I prevailed again, being awarded a judgment in the exact same amount as in the first hearing.

Nearly a month had passed and I still hadn't received payment. I started to prepare to send a sheriff to their shops to seize payments received by customers (the costs of which would be added to my judgment), and then the check arrived. They simply were stringing things out till the last possible moment, which in hindsight isn't surprising, given that's what they had done at every step of the game up until then.

So case is now closed. I'm glad I prevailed, but it was alot of work and it took nearly 10 months to resolve. But given the audacity of the shop, if it ever happened again, I wouldn't do anything different. And now I can navigate the small claims process very easily, so it wouldn't be nearly as time consuming.

Dave