MichelleJD

Nice work! Did you do a Notice when you filed?

rdhayward

Abraham Lincoln had it right about a self-represented litigant having a fool for a client!

Things went poorly for me at trial. The defendant and his employees claimed (1) I had refused a written estimate when it was offered; (2) that we had agreed on a price range of $4000-$5000 based on a guess of about 120 hours of labor; (3) that I agreed to pay $250 for the towing service; (4) that I damaged the paint by spilling lacquer thinner on the driver-side quarter panel; (5) that I, and not the shop, was responsible for disassembly and reassembly of the car; and (6) that I broke the parking brake cable when I recklessely loaded the car onto a U-Haul trailer the day I picked it up.

I was particularly shocked that they accused me of damaging the paint myself. I now vaguely remember spilling a small amount of lacquer thinner on the quarter panel and Rick wiping it off immediately, and this was 5-6 days after the car had been repainted. (Recall from the previous thread, that the car was painted once by Rick, but because the paint was blotchy he had to paint it again.) Rick told the jury that my spilling lacquer thinner caused the paint to not cure properly in that area.

My examination of witnesses eroded into the defense counsel repeatedly objecting to, and the judge repeatedly sustaining, questions of a type I wasn't permitted to ask (leading, opinion, etc.). At some point, I simply got lost and told the judge that I didn't understand the objections, and I didn't understand why I couldn't ask questions. The judge said: Maybe after you finish law school, you'll know why.

The jury found the minimum damages (for claims 1 & 2, which the defense admitted) of $400.

Worse, I received the court's judgment entry, and I'm being ordered to pay court costs because I didn't "prevail in the substantial part of the litigation."

Yesterday, I got a call from Nadine Ballard, who is chief of the Ohio Attorney General's Consumer Protection Section; she's also a former magistrate and is probably the top expert in the state on consumer cases. Mrs. Ballard told me to follow all my options with an attorney, and to keep in mind that the Attorney General's office could take action, as well, to enforce both consumer law and the shop's lack of a license from the Ohio Collision Board. She wanted to be assured that I pursued my case in good faith, though.

I took the car to PPG's automotive products training center in Wixom, Michigan. An individual named Jeff Matauch looked at the various receipts of PPG products the shop had used, and took some time to look over my car. He said the the particular additives used (with the paint) would have made the paint cure within 90 minutes to the point that it could be sanded. He said a spill of lacquer thinner had nothing to do with the paint peeling away. Also, there's similar bubbling on a smaller scale on the passenger-side quarter panel, as well as paint "crazing" on the hood, and paint eroding from all the side-molding pieces. Mr. Matauch said his opinion was that the paint was not bonding because of poor preparation.

And (drum roll please)....I took the case to an attorney in Toledo, Ohio. I don't know if I can afford an appeal, because just the transcript will cost $5000. But I gotta do my best.

Fact is, I got my butt handed to me at trial. The defense counsel did an outstanding job, even if his client was deceptive, and I may ultimately have to accept this as a very expensive lesson.

Chaos

While I was in law school I learned I knew just enough to get myself into trouble but it took a few years to learn how to get myself out.

LTCMontana

Ask your attorney to look into whether or not the Defense attorney knew his client was lying. If the defense attorney promulgated a lie, he might be in a little trouble.

Craig B

My two cents - don't post a statement on a public forum suggesting the defendant is a liar unless:

a) you can seriously back it up; or
b) you like being sued for defamation

(no affiliation - never heard of this matter before today)

rdhayward

I changed it to "deceptive," as he admitted to two deceptive acts or practices and the jury found on those two claims.

Today, my mind is finally settling down about the trial. I recall a few things that just stunned me to hear after 14 months of getting no reply from them. According to the defendant and his employees:

I was told and agreed that the towing would cost $250;
I agreed to all repair on the 968 in the range of $4-5k;
I understood the job would require 120 hours (so I inherently understood the $40/hr labor rate);
I refused a written estimate that he offered me;
I was originally responsible for buying all parts;
I agreed to do all the assembly and disassembly myself;
I was practically useless as an assistant in the job;
I damaged the paint by spilling lacquer thinner on the driver-side quarter panel;
It was my job to rewire the headlamps, and I neglected to do so;
I bought the wrong clips for the side molding, which is why it popped off;
I drove the car onto a U-Haul trailer recklessly and probably damaged the parking brake cable at that point.

Crap, now that I actually commit these to writing after a day of them swimming in my head, I realize their defense was just way too perfect!

mikew968

Without trying to be out of line...When does one just get on with life and chalk it up to lessons learned? Are there income or life oppurtunities you are missing while you prosecute this issue?

Mike

ltc

FWIW, Porsche owners (and other "exotic" car owners) are typically not held in high regard, especially in jury trials.
The "average" person on a jury has a hard time relating to a Porsche owner suing for "excessive" damages.

Just my 2 cents from one side of the bench.

rdhayward

Mike...word...

rdhayward

Had oral argument in my appeal yesterday, at the Sixth Dist. Court of Appeals in Toledo, OH. The judges were very complimentary at the quality of the brief I presented. I expected to get in 2-3 minutes before they peppered me with questions, as occurred, and I stood my ground pretty well.

The supplier didn't submit a merit brief, which gives the court discretion to adopt my statement of facts and argument, and reverse for a new trial if my argument reasonably supports that. His attorney said his client couldn't afford counsel for appeal and withdrew from the case, but the supplier himself didn't even attempt to file a breif, so he wasn't permitted at oral argument.

boost feen

Well sounds like all your preparation paid off, I hope it ends well its been a long haul for you. If nothing else comes from this I guess you could get a law degree when finished huh? You could probably pass the bar!

rdhayward

(cough, cough)...sure.

Actually, I'd be in law school now if this BS situation hadn't made such a mess of my financial outlook. Dumb dumb dumb idea to be self-represented, let me tell you. The supplier's attorney just plain kicked my butt at trial; I mean, he really pushed the envelope of ethical behavior, but that's an issue for another day. In hindsight, I think he was just swinging for the fences because he knew the trouble his client could be in for.

If anyone wants to read a couple of short cases that contain the present law regarding my case:

Read paragraph 11 of this one (literally, by the same judge I appeared before yesterday), where the consumer was awarded treble the amount paid to the supplier over the written estimate:
http://www.sconet.state.oh.us/rod/do...-ohio-2668.pdf

And paragraph 7 of this one, where the trial court found awarded the consumer actual damages equal to the entire payment for repairs made without a written estimate, and the appellate court trebled that award:
http://www.sconet.state.oh.us/rod/do...-ohio-2029.pdf

smshirk

Never, ever represent yourself in court, even if you are considered by your peers to be an excellent counselor, and have a law degree. I did it myself once, the facts were obviously in my favor and I ended up just like you. I didn't appeal though, or hire an attorney at that point. I just paid up and walked away.

rdhayward

You're wiser than me in that regard, smshirk. This has been very taxing on every other aspect of my life, and I could never justify it if I had family and inflexible job obligations.

My desire to continue has been fueled by he way I was treated in court; it just made me want to fight.

The opposing counsel harrassed me in and out of the courtroom. On one hand, it was disgusting to me, especially because the trial judge let him get away with it. On the other hand, I thought it was just my green-ness that I'd jumped into a big game and didn't cope well with the smack-talking of a formidable opponent.

This attorney made a comment to me during the trial: "You're out of your league here, Ralph." And he was right. I'd never even seen a jury, much less represented myself in a 2-day jury trial.

But, firstly, I knew my case was based on the truth, and that the supplier was wrong, so I was in court to get just results. Secondly, I'd seen this attorney's written pleadings for almost a year, and I knew that whole "out of your league" thing was out the window the minute we got to the appellate level, where I am definitely in my element.

Appellate/post-judgment work is literally the work of my life, and what I want to do with my life in behalf of others (criminal law, however, not civil).

That attorney got a dose of his own medicine in the appeal. After I filed my brief, he didn't bother filing a reply brief, but lodged a lame pleading that his client couldn't afford counsel for the appeal and then withdrew from the case.

Will it pay off? I dunno...

ramius665

I certainly hope you get lucky and see some compensation at the end of the road. I would have settled out of court for the first offer that would recoup my losses. I'm a counterintelligence agent by trade and I've seen some folks just get murdered in front of a jury. I've seen counsel on both sides that were incompetent, lazy or just plain dumb take a slam-dunk case and get it all kinds of turned around.

Civil courts can be a brutal thing, especially depending on the particular court you are appearing before. I hope at the end of this you can say it was worth all of the effort.