Anyone with experience in small claims court ?

[Acura NsX Pilot]

I will make it brief

Parking lot for my daily at work .... careless attendant tries to squeeze between the cars and get to mine which is parked too close to each other and while trying to do so scratches the side of my car with his buttons from his jacket. They refuse to give me there insurance and say to take it up with consumer affairs dept. Police say there is not much they can do and my only option is pretty much to take them to small claims court. Is it worth it to go thru all this for just a door scratch ?

 

[RSO 34]

Depends on the cost of repair. If you file a small claims action you will be contacted by their insurance company so at least you will get that info and give you a chance to get a settlement.

 

[EN93NSX]

NSX Pilot,

I have filed in small claims court a few times. Each time it was for at least $1000 and all were for lack of payment. I have a flow sheet that goes step by step through the process. There are some costs associated with each step, but you can recover those costs( at least in Minnesota). There is definitely some red tape, but for me it beats paying a collection agency 50%. Send me an email with your address and/or fax and I can send you the info.

I will PM you my email

 

[Acura NsX Pilot]

I called acura and there estimating the repair to cost around $600 give or take a few hundered. Its $15 to file the case in court I belive anyway a friend told me his lawyer drafted some letter and gave it to the garage on a similar incident and when they saw he was serious they then offered a settlement. Anyway I need some advice on how to proceed here in NYC with this case and of coarse any advice is appreciated.

 

[docjohn]

I would show up with the estimate and a threatening note from lawyer on official looking letterhead and present to manager of lot.If that gets nowhere then decide on your cost benefit ratio of going to scc.

 

[Acura NsX Pilot]

I would show up with the estimate and a threatening note from lawyer on official looking letterhead and present to manager of lot.If that gets nowhere then decide on your cost benefit ratio of going to scc.

This is exactly what many people have already suggested to me and the route I am going to take.

 

[HIJACKER]

I would show up with the estimate and a threatening note from lawyer on official looking letterhead and present to manager of lot.If that gets nowhere then decide on your cost benefit ratio of going to scc.

Agreed.

The cost involved in my time to deal with small claims court isn't even worth the judgment if I win. Furthermore, even if you received a judgment, collecting can become an issue. If a claim is near the cap of $5k for SCC, then I would probably do it. For $600, I wouldn't waste my time filing and dealing with it.

 

[NsXMas]

May I suggest a baseball bat, a pair of mis-fitting gloves, and waiting by the parking lot on a dark cold night?

I kid, I kid!! :biggrin:

 

[SFDreamer]

Let us know how it turns out!