Hello,
Had a plumber come out to repair gas riser and he put 21 times the pressure on our gas piping as what the gas normally comes in at. In other words 85 lbs. but that's in writing - he said he put 100 lbs. on it. Needless to say, the plumber was amazed at how many joint leaks he then found and all the dope powder now resting under each joint that was leaking.

City plumbing inspector will testify in court this caused the leaks. I offered to pay for what he came for - not the damage - they charged me to repair this damage!! So, they wouldn't take what I offered. Now the case is in court through the Grand DADDY corporate law firm. They filed the $3100 in CIVIL - not small claims - JP court - TEXAS.

So, they send me interogs, and production of docs. - that's when I found out that it wasn't in small claims court!! So, I fired right back my own interogs and production of doc.s for them to answer for me.

Question: My son (who sued Yellow Cab himself in small claims and won a landmark case - which set the precident that small claims court rules of procedure applies also in the higher appeals court process in TX - sorry corporate lawyers - in TX now you can't run to appeals court when you lose in small claims and have the evidence thrown out anymore - haa ha) Yes, so my son said that I could motioin to dismiss this Civil case to have it moved to ADR and or small claims court so that I have the opportunity to fight this wrongful claim against me. He said to say in my motion this is a rampent abuse of the system to take a little guy over a little amount to Justice civil court when the same judges hear the small claims cases - that this filing in the civil court is intimidation and the mere fact of economics denies my the ability to contest this wrongful claim.

All right - my son is under the gun at work and can't help me - how do I file the motion in form - to dismiss to the small claims court?

My daughter also told me her friend was sued in Dist. court by an idiot and her lawyer got her $5,000 up front from the plaintiff for her legal fees BEFORE any trials could take place. So it seems the little guy can have a chance - just don't know how to style it or say it. For the small claims. I'd like to counter sue this bas****ds, but can't unless we get to small claims. They've cost me so much work and time and I even had to have another plumber come fix this idiots work! Thanks in advance.

Hello t:

Without legal help (even your sons), you're not going to beat the grand daddy of corporate law firms.

It's kind of like Georgia trying to win a war against nuclear armed Russia. It ain't happening. Don't matter how RIGHT Georgia is - matters how many GUNS Georgia has.

excon

Thanks excon. Actually, my son is the only human being any lawyer I've ever spoken to who has beat yellow cab's lawyers. And I've personally known people who were terribly injured by yellow cab, had money for big lawyers and they all lost. My son was up against 3 of their attorneys in all level of the courts including the appellate. The boy couldn't get the yellow cab witnesses to crack - but he put on a hell of a show for everyone in the court room - and the judge declared him an expert metallurgy witness for himself as well. Small claims give the small guy who does his homework the advantage over big lawyers. I saw a guy take on Allstate insurance and he really didn't have a leg to stand on argument wise and he still beat out Allstate insurance lawyers in small claims.

That said, I appreciate your comment but the question wasn't answered. The question is how to motion to get the case put in small claims court - where in case you didn't know - the small guy has a huge percentage of wins.

The bottom line is that I have the evidence they destroyed my property - they cannot prove that what they did could not, would not or did not destroy my property. I've researched the heck out of this subject, have the City inspector on my side to say the same thing - their witness the plumber has no credibility and a violent criminal history.

My daughter also won as a victim in a criminal case where the criminal sued her in civil court. She had the criminal and civil case going at the same time with no advantage of one to help with the other - it was a stall. She did her homework, got the attorneys to do what they needed to do with the strategies she came up with - and won. All the experts across the country told her she would lose - and 12 lawyers and the District Attorney's office - impossible cases can be won, have been won, etc.

I myself took a chimney sweep who ripped me off to court and won - so don't give up on us little guys so easily.

Anyone know how to motion for the move to small claims? Thanks

Hello again, t:

I'm not a quitter. I don't lay down for anybody. I kicked lots of lawyers a$$es. If I was there, I'd be the one you consulted with if you didn't want to hire a lawyer...

But, I'm NOT there, and you, by yourself, don't stand a chance. You see, it's not the form of the motion... It's the argument in support of the motion that you don't know how to do, and neither do I. The argument is made after the motion is submitted. The motion is simple. If you're representing yourself, and you've submitted papers saying so, then all you have to do is write the judge a letter in plain language and ASK him to move the case to small claims court. Ask the judge to consider your letter to be a motion. The judge will. Send a copy to the grand daddy lawyer, and send your stuff certified, return receipt requested.

Now, in your argument, you'll say you want it to be in small claims court where you have a chance... But, that's not a legal argument... You have to argue why his filing in the court he did is illegal. Do you know if it's illegal for the suit to be filed where it was?? No you don't. If you hired a lawyer, he might.

excon

Excon - go get 'em you're my kind of guy. Okay - this is what I found out - yes, it's totally legal that he filed it Civil instead of small claims.

Getting it moved is unlikely. He did however file it in the wrong precinct within the county - so at least I get to have it moved to my neck of the woods. Seems my only trouble would be the introduction of evidence in the case. I plan on reading up on this - however - if you have any experiences you'd like to share on how you have previously introduced evidence in your situations - that would be great. If I can get the evidence in - they lose. The other bummer is that to counter sue - I can't go to small claims (informal court) - I have to counter in the civil (formal court) That makes me nervous.

Unless, I file it in small claims anyway - same judge and then use that to ask for their suit to be moved. It's obviously a ploy to put me at a disadvantage by having it in formal court.

Like my daughter said throughout the witch of a suit which she won - if you don't argue it - the answer is always no. Her philosophy is to load up the ammo (supporting facts) and make the motion - if it doesn't fly - at least you tried.

So now the question is - how do you put evidence into the trail in formal court? I think you have to for example - have someone on the stand - ask them a question related to what you want to enter into evidence and then slip the evidence in there and continue to ask the witness about it. Yes? Do you always need a witness to enter it?

Hello again, t:

Ok. The answer can be found in the "Rules of Civil Procedure", for the particular court that the case was filed in. You can probably buy a copy at your local college bookstore.

It tells you how everything in that courtroom is supposed to go. It will tell how to type your motions. It'll tell you how big of a border to have. It'll tell you everything you ever wanted to know about practising law in that court, including how to introduce evidence - except WHY.

Why is perty important. If, you get your evidence admitted, you'll be able to say why.

excon

I would say you want to do a lot, but small claims court were created to allow the small guy to sue the big guy, but there is no requirement that you sue there. As it appears you have found out they are allowed to sue in either, Now part of the problem is that this high class firm, can file motion upon motoin until you forget to answer one, or answer one incorrectly. And with some exceptions for inmates filing claims, I know some courts that will not like it if you use the wrong size fonts on the filing, theywant it to be exactly the way they want it filed.

Okay - so I have a few resources for the court deal - it's on the court website - the rules and such and as is often the case - the big daddy lawyer - filed the discovery requests and he wasn't supposed to AND he filed in the wrong court.

What's your opinion on if I file a motion to dismiss cause it's in the wrong precinct? Probably wouldn't work 'eh?

Truthfully, I got to thinking about it and I need to hurry and file that counter claim - because when their lawyer finds out that the bozo wrote a confession to the fact they used 85 lbs. (it really went to 100 - but he just wrote 85) to the State Plumbing Examiners Board in response of my complaint he said, "couldn't find the leaks, so put 85 lbs. of pressure on the line and found numerous leaks" haaa ahaaaaaa He also said in his response I was admimate about only paying the $700 for the work I did order done and had to call another plumber to redo - nice confession buddy - thanks! Well, in my interogs and request for docs - I asked them to show copies, list, identify sources with credentials, blah blah blah - that 85 lbs. of pressure - 21 times the amount the line is designed to carry - would not, could not, will not , did not cause the damage in my attic. The truth is they can't - no body is going to believe that a gas line designed to carry 2.5 - 5 lbs. of pressure is going to hold all the joints with dope in them at 85 lbs. esp. on an existing dwelling - hell - welded pipe is only suppose to be tested at 60 psi. shhhhheeeeeeet Elroy - they going to have to esplane to Lucy. If they can't answer that question on discovery and show the sources then they have no evidence they didn't do the damage and that I owe them the money and truthfully - when I counter sue - I'm asking for alternative dispute resolution - cause these folks be owing me some money. I had no leaks in my attic until dumb dumb blew all my joints out. KEEP THE FEEDBACK FLOWING

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Originally Posted by traceyrco

Question: My son (who sued Yellow Cab himself in small claims and won a landmark case - which set the precident that small claims court rules of procedure applies also in the higher appeals court process in TX - sorry corporate lawyers - in TX now you can't run to appeals court when you lose in small claims and have the evidence thrown out anymore - haa ha) Yes, so my son said that I could motioin to dismiss this Civil case to have it moved to ADR and or small claims court so that I have the opportunity to fight this wrongful claim against me. He said to say in my motion this is a rampent abuse of the system to take a little guy over a little amount to Justice civil court when the same judges hear the small claims cases - that this filing in the civil court is intimidation and the mere fact of economics denies my the ability to contest this wrongful claim.

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For my own info, could you give me a cite for this case? I can't find it and would like to read it - believe it or not, I do a lot of work for cab companies, although in another State.

I find a case where someone tried to appeal an appeal but can't find a first step appeal denial on the grounds you stated.

I think your son is wrong about moving this case to Small Claims but otherwise I have little knowledge of Texas law.

Thanks Judy, he wasn't wrong - just thought it worth a try. However, no one thinks it will work, because it's not illegal to file the way they did - just ethically wrong - as they know what this does to a little guy. They did however, file it in the wrong precinct.

Courtney vs. Yellow Cab - yellow cab appealed the small claims ruling in Courtney's favor, when it went to district court - yellow cab argued the civil rules not small claims apply, Courtney was successful in arguing that they did apply and there it stands.

Are you a lawyer who works for the little guy or the cab companies?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by traceyrco

Thanks Judy, he wasn't wrong - just thought it worth a try. However, no one thinks it will work, because it's not illegal to file the way they did - just ethically wrong - as they know what this does to a little guy. They did however, file it in the wrong precinct.

Courtney vs. Yellow Cab - yellow cab appealed the small claims ruling in Courtney's favor, when it went to district court - yellow cab argued the civil rules not small claims apply, Courtney was successful in arguing that they did apply and there it stands.

Are you a lawyer who works for the little guy or the cab companies?

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Neither. I investigate for either side, usually Plaintiff, occasionally Defendant - with cab companies it's 50/50.