Legal Question in Legal Ethics in California

Re: not notified of a problem

Mr. Lee has given you a thorough and correct (in my humble opinion) answer to your problem.

Also, it is hard to understand your problem, because your statement of facts is extremely difficult to put together.

If Mr. Lee and I haven't understood your facts, try to make it clearer and resubmit.

Re: not notified of a problem

Your role is not quite clear from the facts stated. If I understand correctly, you were hired by the owner to abate the weeds. You did your job. The owner got fined by the fire chief because the job was not done properly, and then the owner sued you in small claims court to recover what he was fined, because you did not do the job correctly. Is that the gist of it?

It sounds like the owner is claiming that he did not know there was a problem until it was too late and he was already fined. It certainly would have been more sensible on the owner's part to let you know of the fine and demand payment from you informally before filing the small claims action, but that doesn't absolve you of responsibility. Instead, the owner has taken the direct route to court, which is his/her right. As to whether you are responsible, that will be a matter for the small claims court to determine.