Legal Question in Business Law in California

Taking a business to small claims for reimbursement due to poor workmenship and work done incorrectly. I had paid the bill in full. On the items that I fixed/corrected after numerous hours of research and part replacement, the small claims judge would only credit me for the inexpensive part replacement I paid out of pocket. Is there a publication or code I could refer to, or perhaps a way to ask for reimbursement of the money already paid to the business?


Asked on 12/28/11, 1:23 pm

3 Answers from Attorneys
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

The plaintiff cannot appeal from a small claims judgment he doesn't like. It sounds like you're stuck with the small award you received.

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Answered on 12/28/11, 1:29 pm
Anthony Roach Law Office of Anthony A. Roach

You don't get both money damages and your money back. You either get one or the other. Mr. Hoffman is also correct that you cannot appeal a small claims action that you filed.

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Answered on 12/28/11, 1:54 pm
Bryan Whipple Bryan R. R. Whipple, Attorney at Law

Small-claims courts have a reputation for sometimes being capricious and not understanding or not applying the finer points of law or delving carefully into the facts. Perhaps a significant part of this reputation may be due to the trial skills (or lack thereof) of the parties themselves. Here, it's possible you didn't present your claim in terms that showed you were entitled to damages, or it suffered from some other weakness......or the judge could simply failed to understand it fully.

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Answered on 12/28/11, 6:18 pm


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