TABLE OF CONTENTS

What Are Small Claims Courts?

Making A Good Faith Effort

Do I Have A Case That's Worth My Time & Effort

To Be or Not to Be in Small Claims Court

I'm ready to file. Who do I sue?

I have my defendant. Where should I sue?

Beware of the Statute of Limitations

GLOSSARY

LEGAL TERMS

ACTION

A lawsuit or proceeding in a court of law.

BREACH

A violation in the performance of or a failure to perform an obligation created by a promise, duty, or law without excuse or justification.

ADMISSIBLE EVIDENCE

Evidence that can be legally and properly introduced in court.

AFFIANT

Person who makes and signs an affidavit or declaration.

AFFIDAVIT

A written statement of facts under oath, by a party. Can also be referred to as a declaration.

AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE

Defendant provides an excuse to escape responsibility without denying plaintiff's claim.

AGREEMENT

The mutual consent, whether written or verbal, of two or more contracting parties to the same terms through a meeting of the minds.

ALLEGATIONS

A statement of the issues in a pleading that a person intends to prove in court.

AMENDMENT

Making a change in the complaint, answer or countercomplaint.

CASE LAW

Law established by precedent, predominantly decisions of state Supreme Court or United States Supreme Court, used to support your position. Any opinion cited by a district court or another state is merely persuasive. It is not controlling law.

COMPLAINT

The legal document, also known as a pleading that initiates a civil lawsuit. It states facts and identifies the action the court is to asked to take.

CONTRACT

A legally enforceable agreement between two or more competent parties signifying a meeting of the minds either orally or in writing.

CORPORATION

A legal entity created under state law most commonly intended to be in business.

CROSS EXAMINATION

The examination of a witness who has already testified in order to test, discredit or impeach the witness's testimony, knowledge, or credibility.

DAMAGES

An amount of money that may be recovered in the courts by any person who has suffered loss, detriment, or injury through the unlawful act, negligence or intentional conduct of another.

DIRECT EXAMINATION

The first questioning of a witness by the party on whose behalf they are called.

DEFENDANT

The person(s) or other entity against which a claim is filed.

DISMISSAL

The termination of a lawsuit. A dismissal without prejudice allows the plaintiff the option to file again at a later date. A dismissal with prejudice prevents the lawsuit from being brought again in the future in any form.

FRAUD

Intentional deception to deprive another person of property or to injure that person in some other way through misrepresentation.

JUDGMENT

A final determination by the court of the rights and claims of the parties in the action, whether by default, summary judgment consent judgment or verdict.

JURISDICTION

The extent of the court's legal authority in a specific geographical area to interpret and apply the law. Types of jurisdictional power include subject matter, personal, territorial, concurrent and appellate jurisdiction.

EVIDENCE

A fact presented before a court such as a witness' statement, a tangible object, etc that relates to or establishes a fact in contention.

GENERAL CONDITION OF CARRIAGE

A contract between the air carrier and the passenger specifying obligations, rights, warranties and disclaimers between the parties.

HEARING

A legal proceeding at which arguments and evidence may be presented on the matter at issue to be decided by the presiding judge.

ISSUE

The disputed point of contention between the parties of the action. To send out officially, such as to issue an order.

INJURY

A violation of a legally protected interest for which the law allows an action for legal or equitable relief.

MINIMUM CONTACTS

The level of a nonresident defendant's connection with or activity in a state that is sufficient under due process to support the assertion of personal jurisdiction under a long-arm statute.

PARTY

A person, business, organization or government agency actively involved in the prosecution or defense of a legal proceeding.

PERSONAL JURISDICTION

The court will only have personal jurisdiction, also referred to as "in personam jurisdiction," over a defendant if the defendant has been personally served or accepted service of court papers, and the defendant has at least some minimum contact with the state in which the court is located. Minimum contact varies on a case-by-case basis given the quality and quantity of defendant's contacts with the state.

PRO SE/IN PROPRIA PERSONA

Litigating a case on one's own behalf without an attorney.

STATUTE

A law adopted by the legislature.

STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS

The time limit setting the maximum period of time, after certain events, that a plaintiff may file a lawsuit. Once the statute tolls, the time period to file an action expires and the plaintiff is barred from filing any action.

VENUE

The proper geographical areas (county, city, or district) I which a court with jurisdiction over the subject matter may hear a case.

WITNESS

A person who testifies to what he or she has seen, heard or otherwise observed or testifies to his or her opinion based on a hypothetical statement.

Making a Good Faith Effort

Before you tromp off to have your day in court, you must make a good faith effort to resolve the dispute. If you feel cheated and file a case without giving the other party the opportunity to fix the error most judges will dismiss your case until you make some informal effort to resolve the issue. The courts, even Small Claims Court, are the final frontier where all other avenues have failed. As your dispute is with the airline, always go through the customer service channels first. If you receive unproductive results, move up the chain of command to the president or CEO. It is always important and in some, if not all, states required to show that you made a legitimate effort to resolve the dispute before ultimately pursuing legal channels.It is also a good idea to submit a formal complaint to the Department of Transportation (DOT) so that your complaint is on official record.

A Little Research Never Hurts:

Always make an effort to know your adversary. The Internet is your friend. Has the airline been involved in any recent litigation? Has the airline received bad publicity because of similar complaints by other consumers? Does the airline have a website? If yes, who is the president or CEO? Who would you need to contact to resolve your dispute? If the airline does not have a website, check the Secretary of State website for the state in question. This website will identify all businesses registered to do business in the state, including businesses under fictitious names. Typically, unless the small claims rules or maximum amount is prohibitive, you will likely be looking at filing locally.

Your research will help you determine how to deal with the airline.

• If the airline has a history of litigating every lawsuit, no matter how small, you will spend less time on negotiating sufficient compensation for your injury and more time on building evidence to prove your case.
• If the airline does not have a history of litigation and wants to keep its record clean, you will have more bargaining room to resolve the issue in lieu of filing a case.
• If the airline does not have a history of litigation because no one has ever threatened to sue, you will be in unchartered territory and following the steps outlined here will be key.

Keep in mind that sometimes the threat of filing a case will get you farther than filing because once you file the airline is forced to report that a suit has been filed. The airline may be forced to litigate to deter other customers from filing suits, including frivolous suits in your wake. Lastly, you will get a feel for whether the airline will pay what is owed because it is more cost effective than answering the complaint and going through the legal motions.

A written complaint letter is the best method to contact the airline. Often writing a complaint letter to a business outlining the dispute, making a reasonable demand for remuneration and demonstrating a willingness to go to court will resolve the issue with positive results. Citing relevant statutes is added gravy, as it will impress upon the airline that you are serious, as you have already started the legal legwork. Typically a business, like an airline, will have to pay the same lawyers to prepare the case whether it is tried in Small Claims or higher courts. Therefore some businesses will settle a legitimate claim by providing a refund or other comparable compensation because the cost to prepare the case would far outweigh the amount in dispute.

The Complaint Letter

From now on all communications with the airline is in writing. If you have a conversation with someone on behalf of the airline, keep a log of the people you spoke with, when and the nature of the conversation. If the conversation is about an important issue to the case, follow up the conversation with a letter summarizing the conversation. This follow-up letter will confirm that there was a meeting of the minds on the specific issue. Tell the airline representative to contact you within 48 hours if sent by fax or within three days if sent by mail if the correspondence does not comport with that person's memory of the conversation. If the other party does not respond to contradict your communication, the letter acts as a tacit admission of its contents.

Remember anything you say or do WILL be held against you in court so keep your conversations and correspondence on point and civil because you know who will be reading or hearing about them-the Judge! You always want to be rational and courteous in your letters so that you appear reasonable no matter how enraged you may be at the indignities you have suffered at the hands of the airline. You can visualize roasting the ticket agent, flight attendant, president or CEO of the airline on an open pit, but leave the verbal sparing until after you have resolved your case.

Before filing any action send a typed Complaint Letter to the airline stating the pertinent facts and how to remedy the problem. This is where your handy research comes in.

• Address the letter to the appropriate person with the authority to fix the problem. This may be the Head of Customer Service, President, CEO or Secretary of the Company or some other specified individual.
• Provide the essential facts of where you purchased your ticket, the date, time and flight number and any layover if applicable to the issue.
• State the problem clearly and concisely and without additional commentary about the airline and its employees.
• Identify relevant documents, such as the ticket, claim tags, receipts, etc. that help support your case. Include a copy of these documents with your letter. Never send the originals to the airline even if the airline requests them.
• Set a deadline for the airline's representative to respond. You must provide a reasonable time period for a response or your effort will seem disingenuous. At least 10 business days is a reasonable period for the initial letter. If the airline always litigates an action no matter how small, adapt your letter to state that if you have not received a response within 10 days you will seek appropriate remedy in court.
• Always provide your contact information, including your name, the best time to reach you and the applicable time zone if there is a difference.

It is recommended that you send a Complaint Letter by certified or registered mail so that you have proof that the intended party received the letter. The downside is that if the defendant refuses to accept the letter, you will have to send it again.

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