Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Small Claims Court - Early pay a bad idea?

I am being sued by a unlicensed handyman for repairs to our fence. Even though the repairs were never completed and his interactions with us were so out of control that a judge granted a temporary restraining order for us. And because of this, we are thinking of paying him off prior to our hearing (the hearing is 6/30 - Van Nuys Court).With this decision,

are there any credit report ramifications for us or hidden probems which could pop up in the future? Thank you in advance for any answer you might have.


Asked on 6/10/08, 2:06 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Stanley Moerbeek The Law Offices of Stanley L Moerbeek

Re: Small Claims Court - Early pay a bad idea?

If he is an unlicensed contractor he can't collect a dime, and you could cross-claim for him to give you back all of your money. Business & Professions Code, section 7031.

As for prepayment, the only way you should agree to do that would be if the payment was done in advance with an exchange of the payment for a written, signed, dated receipt, plus him providing you with a request for dismissal of the small claims action, with prejudice (i.e. so it can't be filed again). Only if the action is dismissed in this way can you avoid a possible problem down the road.

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Answered on 6/10/08, 5:27 pm


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