Re: Some Facts about Small Claims Court

I just have to add a few points to this great thread.

The first and most important is that, by NOT suing, you are sending a special kind of message, one that says "walk all over me, I like it." That message is the collective message our industry has been sending out over the past several decades, and it's time that we all start walking that back a few notches.

The second point is that ANY client who may frown upon you because you have sued others is a guaranteed grinder. Look at it as though they just saved you a lot of headaches if they walk based on something like this.

The third point is that, in a lot of cases, merely receiving a summons and/or Cease and Desist letter is enough to get them scared and sending cash your way. Either way, I agree with David that small claims is easy (by design) provided that you have your ducks in a row. I don't entirely agree that you can assume you'll win without contracts or any documentation, because word-against-word cases are ridiculous. If the defendent was shady enough to rip you off to begin with, you should assume they will be more than happy to lie in court. If you don't have, at the very least, emails showing they agreed to pay for the work, you probably have a tough case ahead of you.

It's well worth it no matter how much actual money is on the line. Your reputation, the industry's reputation and general principals of fair play are ALL on the line whenever someone tries to rip one of us off. Don't roll over so easily!

Brendan Coots

Splitvision Digital

www.splitvisiondigital.com