Small Claims Court

[Jennifer Coley]

I am appearing telephonically in a small claims case tomorrow in Washington State.  My previous tenants are denying the damages and filed against me in court.  I believe they did so because they didn't think that I would be able to respond effectively.  I have sent a binder with all of the damages and repairs set out in great detail.  Do any of you have any last minute advice for me concerning my appearance tomorrow?

[Stephen E.]

 I won in Small Claims court recently, my first try. A former tenant had caused extensive damage to the walls requiring complete repainting, and had damaged the carpet so badly that the flooring had to be completely replaced. I went to court with extensive photographs of the damage but the judge was not interested in them once I presented him with an outgoing inspection report describing the damage and signed by the tenant. The fact that the tenant acknowledged the damage seemed to be weighed heavily by the judge. As others have mentioned, present invoices for the work performed and actual costs so as to substantiate your claim. The judge went over these in detail. Then he gave me the full amount I had asked for and inquired as to whether I wanted costs. I said I wanted the filing fees and the judge prompted me, saying that he could award costs of up to $500 for lost time and inconvenience. I said in that case I would ask for $500, he thought about it for a moment and gave me $300 plus $170 filing fees. The judgment itself was for around $4,700 (the tenant had previously voluntarily paid $2,000, a fact the judge saw was in my favour since it showed acknowledgement of the debt).

I left somewhat heartened by the process. My abiding sense was that I could do this again, and that if a tenant left significant damages or caused losses due to breaking a lease then I would indeed sue again in Small Claims. Two other things, in my jurisdiction the judge has to be addressed as 'your honour' and if you get to witness earlier hearings on the docket (highly recommended to get a better sense of what is going on) you will find that the lawyers use this form of address every other sentence, or so it seems. So showing respect to the court is necessary and helps. The other thing I learned is that there are some pretty awful lawyers out there. Several of the ones that came before my case were disorganized, rambling and actually found by the judge to be wrong on points of law. I think in this context if you follow the advice received above and just calmly and systematically lay out your case, relying on supporting documentation as you go, then things should be fine. The law firm that handled the eviction of this tenant charged me $1,500 and wanted a further $1,500 for a Small Claims action. I did it myself for the cost of $170 in filing fees. After I had the judgment I handed it over to a Collections Agency. Now they are seeking out the tenant, calling him twice a week to demand payment and otherwise making his life difficult. The tenant has both a judgment recorded against him and his credit report will show an account that has gone to Collections. Hopefully this will warn off any future landlords from allowing him to gain possession of their property. I would like to get paid but a part of my goals in suing was to ensure that the tenant faced some consequences for his vandalism.

Hope this helps. Good luck with the hearing.