Penny Pincher decided to have some relatively minor renovations done to her home. She hired Robert Feline (better known as Bob Katt to his friends) to do the work. Bob gave her an estimate of $15,000.00 to do the work. Bob did a terrible job, and his work was worthless but by the time Penny realized this, she had already paid him $9,000.00. Penny fired Bob and demanded all of her money back. Bob didn’t give it back.
What recourse does Penny have? First, she can consider a consumer protection claim under Mass. General Laws Chapter 93A. She is not going to do that since we will address 93A claims in future blog.
Penny’s recourse lies with the District Court, which has jurisdiction of civil disputes of less than $50,000.00. Penny contacted Attorney Clarence Darrow to explore the possibility of bringing a suit against Bob. Mr. Darrow was very receptive to taking Penny’s case and explained the process to her.
Mr. Darrow would have to prepare and file a civil complaint against Bob Katt, have a deputy sheriff serve him with a copy of the complaint along with a summons that notifies him that he has twenty days to respond to the complaint. If Katt does respond, denying liability, of course, the matter will then be subject to discovery by attorneys for both sides. This could include written questions, demands for document production and even in-person depositions. Eventually, the case will be scheduled for trial before a judge and/or jury in the district court.
Mr. Darrow estimated that, depending on the extent of discovery, from beginning to end, it would take between 25 and 30 hours of his time. Mr. Darrow’s hourly rate is $275.00. plus, costs (filing fees, sheriff’s fees, etc.). So, in order to collect the $9,000.00, Penny may have to pay $6,875.00 to $8,250.00. Even Mr. Darrow agreed that makes no sense. So, he offered to take the case on a contingency of 1/3 of all sums actually collected from Katt. The entire process will probably take a year or two to be fully resolved, whether handled on a contingency or straight hourly billing.
Penny appreciated Mr. Darrow’s willingness to take the matter on a contingency, but realized that in the end, she will end up with less than $6,000.00 after the fee and expenses were paid. This took a lot of the fun out of suing Robert Feline. Penny didn’t know what to do. Then she remembered a high school friend, Sandra D. O’Connor who had gone to law school and was running a legal aid office in Boston. She called Sandra.
Sandra suggested she look into Massachusetts small claims law. A small claims action, Sandra pointed out, is simple and designed to allow people to bring actions without needing a lawyer. She did and found that the limit for a small claims is $7,000.00. She called Sandra back and said, “Good suggestion but my claim is for $9,000.00 and small claims has a $7,000.00 limit.”
Sandra was undeterred, “You can still bring a small claims action. You will just waive all amounts over $7,000.00.”
Penny was appalled. “Why would I do that?”
“Think about it, Penny,” Sandra responded. “The best option you’ve been given is Clarence Darrow taking the case on a contingency basis, which will mean you may get, at most, $6,000.00. If you choose small claims, you will probably get $7,000.00 and it probably won’t take up to two years to get it.”
Sandra’s advice was sound. A small claims action can be brought in a district court having jurisdiction over either the plaintiff or defendant. The court will provide a form to be filled out (you can probably get it online). It is a simple straightforward form. You file it with the court probably most convenient for the plaintiff. The court then notifies the defendant of a hearing date. Filing fees are $40.00 for claims of $500.00 or less. $50.00 for claims of $501.00 to $2,000.00, $100.00 for claims of $2001.00 to $5,000.00 and $5001.00 to $7,000.00 is $150.00.
On the appointed date and time, the matter may be referred to a mediator if that is what the parties want, or be heard by a clerk magistrate in a very informal, unintimidating format. It is possible for the losing party to request a hearing before a judge.
Sandra filed her claim and is now awaiting notice of the hearing date.