[conspire] One service visit, three existing services demolished

[Rick Moen]

Quoting Paul Zander (paulz at ieee.org):

> Given that you have evidence that cables were cut, can you file in
> small claims court? 

I am considering options.


One complication of an action in Small Claims Court is that, if you
prevail, any collection you then pursue requires an entirely new,
separate court action.  Typically, you must first wait 30 days to see
whether the losing party coughs up what the judge ordered.  If that does
not happen, you must notify the court and the judge who heard your case,
so the judge can certify the judgement and acquire a judgement form.  It
is then entered on the court's judgement docket.  Now, you are cleared
to start your second task, seeking to collect the judgement by
garnishment, execution, or other process.  All of your subsequent
debt-collection efforts must scrupulously follow the Fair Debt
Collection Practices Act.

First, get a copy of your judgement from the court clerk, be sure the
clerk numbers your case (may be needed at a later time).  Make a copy to
send to the debtor and keep the original for your records.

Second, send a certified letter to the judgement debtor stating the
amount of the judgement and demanding payment.

If, after some further delay, nothing happens, then you can start an
all-new effort to seek a Writ of Garnishment -- assuming you are able to
identify assets of the debtor you can seek to attach.  The Writ orders
someone to turn over assets to the court, less a court fee and the cost
of serving papers on the debtor (which you also must arrange), and the
court then turns over whatever little remains to you.  Entering the
Small Claims Court garnishment judgement into the court docket takes a
while, of course.  And there is a filing fee for that, of course.

I could go through the remaining steps for garnishment, but I think I've
made my point.

I don't know offhand even what if anything OC Communications owns.  They
might even be leasing their vans.  (Do I want to own an OC Communications
truck?)  I have no idea where the company does its banking business.
Perhaps the implied idea is that I should hire a private detective, eh?
Or personally stake out their depressing, cut-rate prefab
light-industrial office?  How much good money should I send after bad?


Another complication of an action in Small Claims Court is that, whether
you prevail or not, by pursuing that court action plus a probable
subsequent garnishment action, you perpetuate your continued dealings with
someone you typically seek fundamentally to have nothing more to do with.

I have already mentioned my 'Don't have anything to do with crooks' rule
dating back to when I found that a 1980s employer was crooked.  It would
be imprudent for me to assert that anyone in the present situation is a
crook.  However, I might say that the extended form of my rule is 'Don't
have anything to do with either crooks or with firms plagued by totally
coincidental breakage that they say happens all the time.  Or with the
companies for whom they are agents.'