How to Win in Small Claims Court: Don't Go!
Two years ago, I helped my girlfriend file a small claims suit against her former landlord. She won, but hasn't seen a dime. She probably never will, either. Read on, to see why.
In Wisconsin, when your landlord refuses (without just cause) to refund your security deposit, you may sue for up to double the amount you're owed. Kelly enlisted me to help her sort out things at the court house, so I've got some first-hand experience with how this all proceeded.
We went together one afternoon to open the case. You stand in line to see a clerk, and they get mad at you for not knowing what to do. Eventually, you get to explain why you are there and pay to open the case [Fee #1]. You also need to have the other party served [Fee #2]. You can have the sheriff do it on the cheap, but he only tries once. If he fails to meet the defendant in person, you have to pay for a second attempt. You're much better off paying a processing service (a really nice guy named Russ [AKA: Peanuthead], who REALLY loves his job) to make three attempts for you. The total for Fees #1 and #2 will be between $150 and $200 (plus parking). Once you've paid your fees, you will be directed to go to a different room to actually get a court date.
Show up on the date you are assigned, and hope that the other party doesn't appear (it will save you the time of arguing your case). If the other party does show, your day is shot! You will be offered a chance to try mediation. In mediation, law students from Marquette and a retired judge attempt to help you reach a settlement. You're technically in the court house, but I think this counts as an out-of-court settlement and looks good on someone's record. They told us that mediation is successful ninety-something percent of the time. The best offer we could get out of our defendant was a little over $200 (enough to cover court costs, basically), and he was prepared to write the check on the spot. In hind-sight: we should've taken it and finished ever so slightly ahead.
But, Kelly was suing this guy for $1200 and it was pretty obvious to me as an "outsider" that he had NO case. For example: he tried to claim that a dog chain that was left behind warranted his keeping the pet deposit. If anything, he could've sold that dog chain for a buck and made a profit! He also tried to claim that damage to the outside of the property, from bums tearing off the siding, should come out of the deposit. It was especially funny, because Kelly reported that incident to the police as it happened, and her landlord couldn't have cared less at the time! So, we turned down the offer and set up another court date. Keep in mind, I'm taking off of work to do all this, and Kelly is also bringing her cousin along each time as a witness.
The second court date is actually the appearance before the judge. Kelly won, easily, and her landlord got a pretty good lecture from the judge. Kelly was awarded the full $1200, plus court costs. We waited a few months to see if they guy would pay. When he failed to do so, Kelly looked into the next step, garnishment.
She handled this part on her own. First, she docketed the case (you should do this right away when you win) [Fee #3, about $5 + parking]. Docketing the case puts it on his credit report, and makes it harder for him to buy or sell property. She also sent him the required forms to verify his employment, via certified with return receipt [Not a fee, but still a cost]. Fifteen days later, he had not returned to completed forms, so she was able to begin the garnishment suit [Fee #4: $85 + parking, and another court date (with parking)].
The dude failed to show at the garnishment hearing, because he (apparently) didn't want to provide his employment information. So, he was judged in contempt of court. This sounds serious, doesn't it? It's a JOKE. She had to pay another fee [Fee #6] to have him notified via certified mail, and had to come back on another day [parking] to complete the final paperwork.
For an additional fee [Fee #5 (paid to the Sheriff's Dept.), $35], she was able to get a body warrant for the guy. So, if he ever gets pulled over and the police feel like working, he can be hauled in to jail and held until he pays Kelly (or at least pays another fee to the police department). The police admitted that they don't generally act on these warrants, because they get hundreds per day. It sure sounds like easy money to me! Much easier than sitting on the side of the road inventing traffic tickets, for example.
There MIGHT be a next step. Someone I work with told me about something he called an "exercise of lien." Basically, you get to go to the guy's house or place of business (if he's self employed) and collect anything up to the value of the judgment. Now THAT would be fun! I'd take the guy's toilet paper, underwear, toothbrush, shoes, and raid his fridge. Once I was sure that he'd be uncomfortable for a while, I'd start looking around at the big ticket items.
So at the end of all of this, the court system has made one big, fat profit and Kelly's in the hole more than before. Of course, there is no incentive for anyone to enforce the judgment, because they've already been paid! By the way, you have to pay taxes on the settlement even though you didn't collect [Again, not technically a fee].
In Wisconsin, when your landlord refuses (without just cause) to refund your security deposit, you may sue for up to double the amount you're owed. Kelly enlisted me to help her sort out things at the court house, so I've got some first-hand experience with how this all proceeded.
We went together one afternoon to open the case. You stand in line to see a clerk, and they get mad at you for not knowing what to do. Eventually, you get to explain why you are there and pay to open the case [Fee #1]. You also need to have the other party served [Fee #2]. You can have the sheriff do it on the cheap, but he only tries once. If he fails to meet the defendant in person, you have to pay for a second attempt. You're much better off paying a processing service (a really nice guy named Russ [AKA: Peanuthead], who REALLY loves his job) to make three attempts for you. The total for Fees #1 and #2 will be between $150 and $200 (plus parking). Once you've paid your fees, you will be directed to go to a different room to actually get a court date.
Show up on the date you are assigned, and hope that the other party doesn't appear (it will save you the time of arguing your case). If the other party does show, your day is shot! You will be offered a chance to try mediation. In mediation, law students from Marquette and a retired judge attempt to help you reach a settlement. You're technically in the court house, but I think this counts as an out-of-court settlement and looks good on someone's record. They told us that mediation is successful ninety-something percent of the time. The best offer we could get out of our defendant was a little over $200 (enough to cover court costs, basically), and he was prepared to write the check on the spot. In hind-sight: we should've taken it and finished ever so slightly ahead.
But, Kelly was suing this guy for $1200 and it was pretty obvious to me as an "outsider" that he had NO case. For example: he tried to claim that a dog chain that was left behind warranted his keeping the pet deposit. If anything, he could've sold that dog chain for a buck and made a profit! He also tried to claim that damage to the outside of the property, from bums tearing off the siding, should come out of the deposit. It was especially funny, because Kelly reported that incident to the police as it happened, and her landlord couldn't have cared less at the time! So, we turned down the offer and set up another court date. Keep in mind, I'm taking off of work to do all this, and Kelly is also bringing her cousin along each time as a witness.
The second court date is actually the appearance before the judge. Kelly won, easily, and her landlord got a pretty good lecture from the judge. Kelly was awarded the full $1200, plus court costs. We waited a few months to see if they guy would pay. When he failed to do so, Kelly looked into the next step, garnishment.
She handled this part on her own. First, she docketed the case (you should do this right away when you win) [Fee #3, about $5 + parking]. Docketing the case puts it on his credit report, and makes it harder for him to buy or sell property. She also sent him the required forms to verify his employment, via certified with return receipt [Not a fee, but still a cost]. Fifteen days later, he had not returned to completed forms, so she was able to begin the garnishment suit [Fee #4: $85 + parking, and another court date (with parking)].
The dude failed to show at the garnishment hearing, because he (apparently) didn't want to provide his employment information. So, he was judged in contempt of court. This sounds serious, doesn't it? It's a JOKE. She had to pay another fee [Fee #6] to have him notified via certified mail, and had to come back on another day [parking] to complete the final paperwork.
For an additional fee [Fee #5 (paid to the Sheriff's Dept.), $35], she was able to get a body warrant for the guy. So, if he ever gets pulled over and the police feel like working, he can be hauled in to jail and held until he pays Kelly (or at least pays another fee to the police department). The police admitted that they don't generally act on these warrants, because they get hundreds per day. It sure sounds like easy money to me! Much easier than sitting on the side of the road inventing traffic tickets, for example.
There MIGHT be a next step. Someone I work with told me about something he called an "exercise of lien." Basically, you get to go to the guy's house or place of business (if he's self employed) and collect anything up to the value of the judgment. Now THAT would be fun! I'd take the guy's toilet paper, underwear, toothbrush, shoes, and raid his fridge. Once I was sure that he'd be uncomfortable for a while, I'd start looking around at the big ticket items.
So at the end of all of this, the court system has made one big, fat profit and Kelly's in the hole more than before. Of course, there is no incentive for anyone to enforce the judgment, because they've already been paid! By the way, you have to pay taxes on the settlement even though you didn't collect [Again, not technically a fee].
Side note: When Kelly talks about her experience, she likes to describe the "man with the stamps" at her final court appearance. It sounds like a scene out of the Wizard of Oz. First, she had to approach the bailiff, who was standing right in front of the "wizard." She failed to address the bailiff first, and was scolded ("PAY NO ATTENTION TO THAT MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN"). Then, she presented her paperwork, and the "wizard" produced a row of stamps. She said that he obviously enjoys his job, because it was like watching a child play with blocks. He grabbed one stamp after another as he paged through the documents in front of him. In the end, Kelly had a stack of documents as useless as the Cowardly Lion's certificate of courage.
The lesson to be learned:
1) If you're being sued in small claims court, don't bother going unless you're sure to win or need to keep your good credit.
2) If you're looking for justice don't to go small claims unless the person you're suing has something to lose. Otherwise, you're better off slashing tires or hiring one of the Sopranos.
2 Amendments:
I shouldn't be laughing at the last statement, but I am, and you're absolutely right. Hope your girl gets the justice she deserves. My fiance and I moved out of our old apt. 3 months ago, still haven't seen a dime; and we were excellent tenents. Damn liberals
This really doesn't have much to do with liberals. It's just a revenue system for the court system.
But, since you brought it up: this is a problem that affects low income people the most. They're the ones that are living month-to-month in low rent dives with crooked landlords. People with money can afford to rent from corporate landlords: Katz, Metropolitan Associates, etc. They're just as annoying to deal with, but they're generally afraid of lawsuits.
My previous landlord paid me back every cent of my security deposit, even though I put some big holes in the walls and left the place looking very lived in.
I'm glad to be a homeowner now. There's only one problem: my landlord is lazier than ever!
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