5 ms·

Being in the same small claims venue as the company is actually a nice side benefit to living in the Bay Area, otherwise you potentially be looking at thousands

Being in the same small claims venue as the company is actually a nice side benefit to living in the Bay Area, otherwise you potentially be looking at thousands to hire a lawyer in normal court.

ceejayoz 6y ago
Not necessarily. https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/free-books/small-claims-book/chapter9-2.html https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/free-books/small-cla... > Most large national businesses can be sued in any state, but smaller businesses that are headquartered in another state, do no business in your state, and have no physical presence in your state can be sued only in the states where they operate.
alex_young 6y ago
Assuming you actually have been wronged Google will wind up paying all of your costs right?
- ceejayoz 6y ago
  Not necessarily. The court would have to specifically include that in their ruling.
- ska 6y ago
  IIRC, attorney fees are not typically allowable in small claims in California - wouldn't be surprised if there are exceptions.
  - cnst 6y ago
    In California, you're not allowed to bring an attorney to a SCC -- only to Superior Court -- so, obviously, there's no attorney fees when attorneys are not allowed. Some other states do allow attorneys in SCC, however.
    - deleted 6y ago
      [deleted]
    - alexchamberlain 6y ago
      Stupid question: how does that work for the company?
      - genocidicbunny 6y ago
        They send a representative, probably someone from their legal department if they have one. The important thing is that both you and the company are arguing on much more level footing. You don't need to be thoroughly versed in court procedure, and the whole process is generally a little more lax than in superior court. With that said, the company can still pump tons of money into things behind the scenes, but because the stakes are so low, and not necessarily precedent-forming, they're not likely to actually invest that much money into fighting you. And even if they do and you lose, since you brought the lawsuit and there are no attorney fees, the most you'd end up spending is the court fees (potentially the company's court fees, but those are minimal too.)
    - chrisshroba 6y ago
      Why would attorneys be disallowed?
      - cnst 6y ago
        To level the playing field. The idea of Small Claims Court is to have a cheap way to resolve monetary disputes, without having to rely on complex procedures and expensive lawyers. So, since you as an individual wouldn't have a lawyer when you sue someone for $300, it wouldn't quite be fair if the company was afforded one. Keep in mind that anything you take to a Small Claims Court you can also take to to a Superior Court, where only lawyers are allowed, unless you're an individual, and are representing yourself. Not every state bans lawyers from SCC. But in California, you'd only face a lawyer in SCC if you sue them for not returning your money, or they sue you for not paying them their fees.

Being in the same small claims venue as the company is actually a nice side benefit to living in the Bay Area, otherwise you potentially be looking at thousands to hire a lawyer in normal court.

ceejayoz 6y ago

Not necessarily. https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/free-books/small-claims-book/chapter9-2.html https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/free-books/small-cla... > Most large national businesses can be sued in any state, but smaller businesses that are headquartered in another state, do no business in your state, and have no physical presence in your state can be sued only in the states where they operate.

alex_young 6y ago

Assuming you actually have been wronged Google will wind up paying all of your costs right?

ceejayoz 6y ago
Not necessarily. The court would have to specifically include that in their ruling.
ska 6y ago
IIRC, attorney fees are not typically allowable in small claims in California - wouldn't be surprised if there are exceptions.
- cnst 6y ago
  In California, you're not allowed to bring an attorney to a SCC -- only to Superior Court -- so, obviously, there's no attorney fees when attorneys are not allowed. Some other states do allow attorneys in SCC, however.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - alexchamberlain 6y ago
    Stupid question: how does that work for the company?
    - genocidicbunny 6y ago
      They send a representative, probably someone from their legal department if they have one. The important thing is that both you and the company are arguing on much more level footing. You don't need to be thoroughly versed in court procedure, and the whole process is generally a little more lax than in superior court. With that said, the company can still pump tons of money into things behind the scenes, but because the stakes are so low, and not necessarily precedent-forming, they're not likely to actually invest that much money into fighting you. And even if they do and you lose, since you brought the lawsuit and there are no attorney fees, the most you'd end up spending is the court fees (potentially the company's court fees, but those are minimal too.)
  - chrisshroba 6y ago
    Why would attorneys be disallowed?
    - cnst 6y ago
      To level the playing field. The idea of Small Claims Court is to have a cheap way to resolve monetary disputes, without having to rely on complex procedures and expensive lawyers. So, since you as an individual wouldn't have a lawyer when you sue someone for $300, it wouldn't quite be fair if the company was afforded one. Keep in mind that anything you take to a Small Claims Court you can also take to to a Superior Court, where only lawyers are allowed, unless you're an individual, and are representing yourself. Not every state bans lawyers from SCC. But in California, you'd only face a lawyer in SCC if you sue them for not returning your money, or they sue you for not paying them their fees.