Small Claims Court (Denver, Craig: how much, lawyer, first time home buyer) - Colorado (CO) - City-Data Forum

FALCONSEYE · 08-11-2008, 01:19 PM

I am not sure if this is the right place for my question but here it is.
Approximately four weeks ago, I hired couple guys to install a sprinkler system and lay down new sod. I found them on Craigslist. They did a horrible job and they are not willing to fix the problems. There is a one page contract that gives a warranty on the sprinkler job. There was also some conversation about coming back in 2-3 weeks to trim the edges, change the timer and so forth. There is no written prove of these conversations. So, I have been thinking about suing them to get some of money back. Where can I find a lawyer to represent myself? How much will that cost? I don't have any address information ( I have their phone numbers) as their business name is fake. Will this be an issue? I will try to get $2000 back since I will need to hire somebody else to fix these problems. Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks.

jamesandveybe · 08-11-2008, 01:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FALCONSEYE

I am not sure if this is the right place for my question but here it is.
Approximately four weeks ago, I hired couple guys to install a sprinkler system and lay down new sod. I found them on Craigslist. They did a horrible job and they are not willing to fix the problems. There is a one page contract that gives a warranty on the sprinkler job. There was also some conversation about coming back in 2-3 weeks to trim the edges, change the timer and so forth. There is no written prove of these conversations. So, I have been thinking about suing them to get some of money back. Where can I find a lawyer to represent myself? How much will that cost? I don't have any address information ( I have their phone numbers) as their business name is fake. Will this be an issue? I will try to get $2000 back since I will need to hire somebody else to fix these problems. Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks.

Court is a gamble.

If you're sure you are right, try it out on an acquaintance being the judge. You play both sides, exaggerating your opponent's case.

FALCONSEYE · 08-11-2008, 01:44 PM

Well, I am most certainly right. There is a warranty on the sprinkler system and these people are no where to be found to fix it.

DenverLawGal · 08-11-2008, 01:52 PM

Problem is, if they are using a fake business name, how would you sue them? You have to be able to serve them your complaint, meaning, you have to know where to find them. This sounds criminal. You could check with the city d.a. to see if they are already investigating them.

WhereTheSidewalkEnds · 08-11-2008, 02:03 PM

You will also need an estimate from another company to prove what it will cost to fix their mistakes.

Unfortunately, you have your work cut out for you if it's a fake company. Have you tried to do a reverse look up using the phone numbers you have? Won't help though if they are cell numbers, but it's worth a shot.

DenverLawGal · 08-11-2008, 02:45 PM

eh, the OP is pretty screwed if he's unable to personally serve them. One thought, OP: Are you sure they are a fake business? You can look them up on the Colo. Secretary of State website. If the company's listed, they will have a registered agent listed, which is who you serve. So not all hope is lost yet.

RonAriba · 08-11-2008, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FALCONSEYE

So, I have been thinking about suing them to get some of money back. Where can I find a lawyer to represent myself? How much will that cost? I don't have any address information ( I have their phone numbers) as their business name is fake. Will this be an issue? I will try to get $2000 back since I will need to hire somebody else to fix these problems. Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks.

Small Claims Court is a relatively easy process. You as the Plaintiff are not allowed a lawyer if you sue in small claims court. Also, IMHO you will not find any lawyer to represent you on a $2,000 case. You can sue someone up to $7,500 in Colorado in small claims court. You can have a friend serve the subpoena or the County sheriff can do it for about $35. However, you need a address to serve them. Which in your case might be a problem. Also, make sure you start the process in the right county or you will waste a lot of time.

How much was the total cost of the project? How much value did you get from the work that they completed? Will it really cost $2,000 to fix?

Lesson learned NEVER pay any contractor for work yet to be completed. Have everything in writing. Have the contractor provide references of previous satisfied clients.

DenverLawGal · 08-11-2008, 03:31 PM

Oh yeah, forgot to mention. In addition to Ron's post, the real hard part is collecting the judgment. Good luck on that.

FALCONSEYE · 08-11-2008, 04:27 PM

Thanks for the help. I contacted couple attorneys to see if they will take the case and they mentioned it's not practical since the damage I seek is very low for them. I am in Denver county. The total project cost was $3500. The sod was around $900. I contact couple other companies and they are around $1500. Ron, I agree with your points. I am a first time home buyer and this was a lesson learned type of deal for me. I tried to find their contact address on the internet but so far I got no luck. WhitePages, reverse lookups, or even Colo. Secretary of State website. Their "business" cannot be found on the State's website.
One thing I don't understand is what is this mean?
" the real hard part is collecting the judgment "

DenverLawGal · 08-11-2008, 04:32 PM

Hi,

OK, have you seen Judge Judy? Well, when she says, you pay the Plaintiff $_______. That doesn't really mean anyone is forcing them to pay. You basically have to make them pay. The judge might give you a judgment (you won the case), but then you have to go about collecting. This is when you hear of things like salary garnishment, and liens. You can put a lien on someone's home, you can garnish their wages.

It's a lot of work though. I've been working in law a long time, and before that, I had no clue and it seemed very overwhelming to me. It's definitely a full-time job. I really feel for you because this can happen to anyone, it happened to my mom. She lost $7K on a house job.

And paying a lawyer doesn't make it easier, at $200-$300 an hour, you can easily get up to the amount of money you lost! Small claims is a good avenue, it's just that if you can't find the person to serve them papers, you can't sue.