Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Colorado

Preparation for small claims court

My friend hired a seamstress to make her wedding dress and bridesmaids' dresses. There was a written contract for the bride's dress and a verbal one for the bridesmaids'. The seamstress didn't get us the bridesmaids' dresses until the day before the wedding and when she did they were completely wrong and didn't fit. The bride's dress was right but was 4 inches too big on her. There was no way that all 5 dresses could have been fixed before the wedding the next morning (we didn't get them until 4 the day before and the wedding was at 10 the next morning) so we purchased new bridesmaids' dresses and pinned the bride's dress to make due. The seamstress won't give back the money for any of the dresses or any of the lace that the bride bought to go on her dress. We are going to small claims court to get our money back and I want to know what kind of documentation and evidence we should bring to ensure a ruling in our favor. Are there any loopholes that we need to be aware of so that we don't lose on a technicality? Also, the bride has to fly in from California where she moved with her husband shortly after the wedding for the court date. Can she add the cost of her trip into the amount she is suing for?


Asked on 8/23/00, 9:56 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Charles Aspinwall Charles S. Aspinwall, J.D., LLC

Re: Preparation for small claims court

Be sure you have competent evidence that the dresses were different from what was ordered and that they were defective. That may require testimony from those who were to wear them.

The bride cannot recover her travel costs. They are not a part of the original deal.

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Answered on 9/29/00, 11:29 am


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