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  1. #1
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    Jun 2014
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    Default Sued Shortly Before a Planned Move to Another Country

    My question involves small claims court in the state of: California

    I am in California but am soon relocating to Germany.

    I am a natural born US citizen and I own property in California. The small claims summons I was served with was related to a plumber that came to my condo January 2013 to unclog a clogged toilet sewer line. The thing is the plumber showed up at my condo with the building manager (this is a 300+ unit high rise) to perform the work. I was never given a price estimate and never signed off on any of the work since I assumed the building would handle the charges since the clog was in common wall between my unit and a neighboring unit.

    After completing the job, the plumber contacted me and insisted that I pay them $250 for the job. They claimed I had signed off to authorize the work. When they sent me the signed invoice, the signature was not mine and it was in fact the building's head engineer that signed off on the work. I argued with the plumber that if the building signed off on the work, they should recoup the costs from the building itself, not from me.

    I left the business a negative Yelp review detailing the lack of communication they displayed in failing to disclose the cost of the job to me prior to performing services and the lack of professionalism they displayed in failing to even get my expressed consent in working. They then sent me various letters over the next 5 months threatening to sue me if I didn't remove the "slanderous" yelp review. I held by my position that my review was a first hand encounter of my experience with their company and that none of it was untrue. I also updated the review to clarify what was fact versus opinion.

    In the last correspondence I received from the plumber, they requested that I remove my review from Yelp. It also stated that "As a courtesy, ... the charges for the job were waived."

    On June 14, I was served Form SC-100 to appear in Small Claims Court. Well, technically, I wasn't even served myself. They served my roommate who happens to have the same first name as I do. According to my roommate, the server simply showed up, asked him "Are you [First Name]?", upon which he replied "Yes". The server then gave my roommate the papers and left without verification of his identity. Would this constitute invalid service?

    Also, the business is suing me for $5,000! Some arbitrary number that, according to them, is for "balance, plus all late fees and compensation for negative review."

    So the court trial is set for June 30, 2014. The problem is my flight has already been booked. I fly out to Germany on June 29 so I can arrive on June 30 and begin employment on July 1. I'm not coming back to the US until December 19 for the holidays. Is this a valid reason to file SC-150 to postpone the trial until my winter break? And if so, how likely would a court be willing to postpone the trial for 6 months?

    The last part. Per California Civil Code 1670.8, it's illegal for businesses to threaten consumers to remove a negative review. Doing so is punishable up to $2,500 plus $10,000 for a "willful" violation. Can I counter-sue the business for $10,000 for their retaliatory tactics in this matter?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
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    Somewhere near Canada
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    35,894

    Default Re: Sued Shortly Before a Planned Move to Another Country

    It's a bill, not a law.

    And again it doesn't say what you think it says.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
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    Default Re: Sued Shortly Before a Planned Move to Another Country

    Quote Quoting diputz42
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    After completing the job, the plumber contacted me and insisted that I pay them $250 for the job. They claimed I had signed off to authorize the work. When they sent me the signed invoice, the signature was not mine and it was in fact the building's head engineer that signed off on the work. I argued with the plumber that if the building signed off on the work, they should recoup the costs from the building itself, not from me.
    You're either responsible for the work or the condo is responsible for the work. If you chose not to make the case to the condo board that it should have to pay for the work, you're not going to get out of the charge by claiming you didn't sign for it. The contractor who performed the work is entitled to reasonable compensation for work you requested and that you knew he was performing on your unit at your request, even if there's no other contract.

    Should we infer that the blockage was found to be located in your plumbing, before your drain pipe reached the common stack? That it was found to be caused by something you or somebody in your unit flushed down the toilet? Fill us in on the details.
    Quote Quoting diputz42
    I left the business a negative Yelp review detailing the lack of communication they displayed in failing to disclose the cost of the job to me prior to performing services and the lack of professionalism they displayed in failing to even get my expressed consent in working. They then sent me various letters over the next 5 months threatening to sue me if I didn't remove the "slanderous" yelp review. I held by my position that my review was a first hand encounter of my experience with their company and that none of it was untrue. I also updated the review to clarify what was fact versus opinion.
    And you are free to try to convince a court that your statements were true.
    Quote Quoting diputz42
    In the last correspondence I received from the plumber, they requested that I remove my review from Yelp. It also stated that "As a courtesy, ... the charges for the job were waived."
    You apparently chose not to take them up on the offer, and thus they withdrew their offer to waive the charge. We can't see the letter from where we're sitting, so we cannot comment on whether it has any greater legal significance.
    Quote Quoting diputz42
    Well, technically, I wasn't even served myself. They served my roommate who happens to have the same first name as I do. According to my roommate, the server simply showed up, asked him "Are you [First Name]?", upon which he replied "Yes". The server then gave my roommate the papers and left without verification of his identity. Would this constitute invalid service?
    Service can be lawfully effected on an adult resident of your home.
    Quote Quoting diputz42
    Also, the business is suing me for $5,000! Some arbitrary number that, according to them, is for "balance, plus all late fees and compensation for negative review."
    You are free to argue that they did not incur the claimed damages, along with your argument that your online review was not defamatory.
    Quote Quoting diputz42
    So the court trial is set for June 30, 2014. The problem is my flight has already been booked. I fly out to Germany on June 29 so I can arrive on June 30 and begin employment on July 1. I'm not coming back to the US until December 19 for the holidays. Is this a valid reason to file SC-150 to postpone the trial until my winter break? And if so, how likely would a court be willing to postpone the trial for 6 months?
    You should not anticipate that you are going to be able to have a small claims trial scheduled over your Christmas holiday.

    I suggest exploring with the court to determine its policies on telephonic appearance. Here's an example of a court's policy from San Francisco.
    Quote Quoting diputz42
    The last part. Per California Civil Code 1670.8, it's illegal for businesses to threaten consumers to remove a negative review. Doing so is punishable up to $2,500 plus $10,000 for a "willful" violation.
    Although I think it has a good chance of passing, the legislation you mention is still only a bill. As things presently stand, they cannot violate a statute that has not been passed into law, and you cannot make a claim under a statute that has not been passed into law. Also, even if the bill is passed in its present form, I doubt that the language would be construed so broadly as to prevent a business from suing a customer for defamation; that's not the sort of "penalization" the statute or its notes would seem to contemplate, and such an interpretation would be subject to constitutional challenge.

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