how to file in a small claims court

ilovepinkhearts

J'aime coeurs roses
Dec 28, 2007
6,601
16
so my dh and i have to sue a crappy tow truck driver and the company owner for illegally towing our vehicle. to make a long story short, the car had a flat tire, it got a lil sticker on it on the 3rd that stated it needed to be taken car of by the 13th or it would be towed. ok so we walk out there on the morning of the 8th and the car was gone [we were going to take care of it that day]. he [dh] contacts our apartments and lets them know what's going on. he takes the sticker to the office, and the asst mgr makes a copy of it and agrees with us and then tries to contact the owner, well he wont pick up the phone. so after waiting over 2 hrs my husband calls and he does pick up and right off the bat he became a HUGE jerk after he realized it was him and what car it was about. and finally stated that he wasn't going to release it. after going back and forth with the lovely lady at our apartments and her dealing with him he told her that he wasn't going to look at any paper work until mon [this was all going on sat. morning]. we said we were waiting until mon and then i called the police, a deputy came out and talked with me, and told me that i had to either go and get it out and then sue him for the fees or wait until mon and hope the manager demanded that he releases it...so the deputy and i go up to the office and talk it over with the asst manager. he then calls the owner and states that he was looking at all the paperwork and that the driver towed it when it wasn't supposed to be, and even better the frickin driver stated that it was towed on the 13th, it was only the 8th. the deputy asked about that "the paper work has to match up" was the owner's answer. so he [deputy] told him that if it goes to court he was going to lose. the owner "we will see" - click. he hung up on the cop...the owner is a real jerk.

ok so the saga goes on and on...finally at about 3 pm the owner calls the asst mgr back and tells her to tell us not to go and pay to get it out, but to send him a pic msg to his cell. we do...3 times "didn't get it" was his response. so i ask if there is an email address...i get one and send it and wait... no response. call the office and she said that he was coming up with every story possible. "his driver doesn't write like that [though all the paper work is in the same exact hand writing]" "the sticker is too clean, they didn't pull it off the window" "they changed the date". so apparently i have a pocket full of every tow truck companies stickers and i falsify them when i get one...BS! after all that he releases it with no charges...we have to go and get it though, he wont bring it back. GRRRRR!

we get there and the tire is now off the rim...it's rear wheel drive so we have one heck of a time trying to get it up on the trailer. so it took us 5 hrs to get the trailer and then to get the car and take it back to my husband's work [so they can't tow it again out of spite] and then return the trailer. we have 3 children that had to sit in the car for that long, including an almost 3 mth old....

so in total we spent 10 hrs fighting to get our car back that should have NOT been towed to begin with and then had to pay and hassle to get it back. so how do we proceed? how much do we sue for? thoughts please!
 
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I recently filed a small claim with the court in my State. I believe you need to go to the district court where the issue occured and they will give you the appropriate forms to file. There is usually a filing fee (mines was $25) and a fee for serving the paperwork but this varies depending on how you chose to have the person/company served. You should start by calling the court house in your area they can lead you in the right direction, good luck!
 
Just wanted to say sorry that happened! I watch enough People's Court to know you should get EVERYTHING documented! Go back to the police officer and manager to get statements. Also keep your text msgs and emails to him with responses. Take pictures of everything as well if you can. Good luck!!!
 
ok thanks fabulousity. how do i find out which court it is? my dh and i are new to this area so we have clue....this sucks!


I'm sure if you call practically any court house and tell them you need to file a small claim they can give you the number and address to the one you need to go to. Also sorry for your experience, I didn't read it all. Hope you get it sorted out.
 
we have all our documents [the sticker, the photos the driver took before he towed it, the tow slip, the receipt from u haul, gas, and from the impound lot] the deputy wasn't going to get involved at all at first. he stated it was civil matter between us and the apartment complex, because the towing company has a contract through them. but after he spoke with him and found out what a real piece of work he was, he gave me a call back card with the case # and his name. he said he would include notes and that he would testify to what he read and what the guy said on the phone if need be.

im sure that we could get a statement from the asst mgr and from the lady that was at the impound lot. also from our neighbors, their car got stickered for something as well, and theirs pulled right off, their car wasn't towed though.