Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Connecticut
I am from a small family flooring business in connecticut, and i am being brought to small claims court for a job that did not come out as well as it should have. the customer would not allow us to return to the home to fix the floor, but instead, hired someone else to rip it out, and replace it. They want me to pay the cost. what happens if the judge rules that i have to pay for this, and i am not financially able to?(it is a large amount of money) I know from experience, that I have brought customers to small claims, and I have won, and I never got paid anything! what happens to those people who are unable to pay?
sincerely,
tmb
1 Answer from Attorneys
First of all, the maximum amount of damages one can win in small claims court is $5000.00 plus the filing fee.
Secondly, you should try to prove that the cost to replace or "fix" the floor is a lot less than what the homeowner paid the new contractor to rip up and replace the floor. Maybe the new contractor didn't need to rip it up and replace it, just repair it? You could bring in another flooring expert to testify on your behalf. This would be much more credible than just your word against the homeowner and his new contractor.
Finally, if the judge finds for the homeowner, then usually a weekly payment is ordered. If the defendant does not pay according to the weekly payment order, then the plaintiff can file an execution to try to get money from the defendant's bank account or wages, if he/she gets a pay check. Since you are self-employed, they would most likely try for a bank execution. You have the right to object to this before it's ordered. By the time this event happens you could work out an affordable payment plan if you don't want to pay the weekly amount. (The weekly amount is usually small.)
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