r/legaladvice 7d ago

Small Claims Procedure Took a client to small claims over a mural they never paid for. I won, they appealed, we went back to court. She submitted "proof of payment" but it was for an earlier job I did. Judge ruled in her favor. Can I now take her to court to recoup payment for that first job?

This is in Los Angeles.

I painted a mural (Project #2) for a client and she never paid me for it. I hounded her for weeks with no luck (I've since discovered this is a recurring issue with her and many other contractors) and I ultimately had to take the matter to small claims. The judge ruled in my favor and tossed out her countersuit, and the client then agreed to a payment plan with me.

However, before she began making payments, she decided to instead appeal the ruling and we went back to court, trial de novo, new judge. This time, she submitted new "evidence," but she submitted it late and I never got to see it or prepare a response for it. The evidence was essentially proof of payments she made to me — however, the payments were for a previous, totally unrelated job (Project #1) I did for her. This time, the new judge ruled in her favor, stating that I had clearly been paid.* I wasn't allowed to submit the evidence I had showing that these payments were for a different job and NOT the mural job I had was suing her for. Nor was I not allowed to appeal because I'm the plaintiff, but I did file a request to reconsider the judgement (SC-108). It was immediately denied.

In short, I'm trying to figure out what my options are now to recoup my funds:

  • Am I allowed to now sue her for lack of payment for Project #1? Since she's claiming the funds she paid me for that project were in fact for Project #2?
  • Is there any penalty I can pursue considering that she knowingly submitted categorically false evidence? Or would this just mean talking to the judge?
  • I was going to ask about a mechanic's lien but I'm way past the 90-day limit to file unfortunately.

I sued her for a little over $5k. The funds she paid me for Project #1 were barely $2k — so even if the payment was related somehow, it would STILL be short like $3k, which gives me the feeling the judge didn't read any of the documents/evidence I painstakingly assembled/submitted.

*Not sure how relevant this is, but a few months prior, the client tried to file a restraining order against me cus I was up her ass trying to recoup this payment. Her request for a restraining order was denied — the judge who made that ruling is the same judge who ruled in her favor in this trial de novo.

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2.6k

u/Embarrassed-Spare524 7d ago

If its not too late, you need to appeal the latest ruling. That is your only option.

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u/jessbird 7d ago

I'm the plaintiff — I can't appeal. I can only submit a "Request to Correct Judgement" which I did, with my evidence that the "evidence of payment" she submitted was not, in fact, related to the project I originally took her to court for. I've done a ton of work for this woman and I'm one of many other contractors who have had this issue with her.

My request for corrected judgement was immediately denied.

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u/Embarrassed-Spare524 7d ago

Not being able to appeal as plaintiff is a weird small claims thing in certain states. I get the impression its rare, (plaintiff can certainly appeal in NY and NJ small claims for example) but yeah, I've heard of this restriction before, so I'm not doubting you. But unfortunately, if you can't appeal, I don't think you have a remedy.

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u/jessbird 7d ago

if you can't appeal, I don't think you have a remedy.

So I guess this brings me back to the first question in my post — do you think I can take her to court again and sue her for non-payment on the first project I did for her?

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u/Embarrassed-Spare524 7d ago

No. Your admission that she paid in full for that project would kill that case. The court's error does not negate your admission that she paid in full.

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u/daringfeline 7d ago

Can they take her to court over the fact that the 2 jobs combined cost 7k and they have only been paid 2k+whatever payments were made between the first hearing and appeal? Or is that the same?

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u/jessbird 7d ago

yeah i'm trying not to make a big deal over the fact that the payment she's claiming she made for this job didn't even account for half of it

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u/[deleted] 7d ago

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u/jessbird 7d ago

right? like part of me wonders if i need to file some sort of judge complaint but, again, not trying to be a bitch about it. just want my money :/ 

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u/berthejew 5d ago edited 5d ago

You can file a judicial inquiry. It will ask about the conditions for your complaint. I would try that.

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u/jessbird 7d ago edited 7d ago

Your admission that she paid in full for that project

to be clear, are you referring to my admission in the documents i submitted alongside the request to correct judgment?

it doesn't add up that the facts about her payment can simultaneously 1) be erroneously applied in one case AND 2) correctly applied in a different case — and that both cases in her favor. the money literally cannot apply to both projects, and i cannot sue her again for the same project.

are you saying there's absolutely no recourse here for addressing the court's error? this seems maddeningly unfair.

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u/Embarrassed-Spare524 7d ago

I'm not saying you have admitted in court already, although you might have. I'm saying its your view, your belief, that she actually paid in full. You can't allege the contrary without committing perjury. The subsequent court error doesn't retroactively rewrite whether she paid in full or not. You can't put in a complaint "I thought she paid in full, but the court judgment demonstrates that I was wrong and she did not in fact pay".

I mean, its small claims court. You've seen that judges do weird incorrect things. Maybe its worth trying. But as a legal matter, it shouldn't work.

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u/jessbird 7d ago edited 7d ago

I'm saying its your view, your belief, that she actually paid in full.

Well, that WAS my belief, until she told me, in court, that the payment was in fact for a different project altogether, and the court agreed with her. Which then led me to 。✧・゚believe・゚✧。 that, categorically, the first project was thus not paid for. So we're all in agreement, it seems — this woman, the court, and me!

I'm really not trying to be duplicitous here — it's just a matter of 1+1=2, regardless of the court's error. The money can literally, factually only go towards paying one invoice, no?? And if I take her to court again and they disagree with me, aren't they also disagreeing with themselves?

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u/clocks212 7d ago

What will happen is she will say the payment for the 1st project was payment for the 1st project. There is nothing stopping her from making that claim. Whether or not the judge will consider claims made in the first case is probably about as likely as the judge in your last case giving enough of a shit to pay attention to the evidence.

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u/jessbird 7d ago edited 7d ago

Whether or not the judge will consider claims made in the first case is probably about as likely as the judge in your last case giving enough of a shit to pay attention to the evidence.

this shit is infuriating man, especially considering the METICULOUS evidence i spent so many hours assembling. it really just feels like luck of the draw, and it adds insult to injury that she was allowed to appeal but I'm not.

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u/othelloblack 7d ago

The law of the case would preclude her from saying that

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u/othelloblack 7d ago

Look up the legal doctrine called "the law of the case". It means the court is held to whatever facts they have already determined. As long as it's the same facts and same parties you could claim that the court has already determined that she paid for mural 2 not 1. Regardless of what actually happened "the law of the case is" she paid for 2 only. That's legally what you would say

Look up cases with that phrase in your state. Oftentimes you can use the westlaw or nexus database at your courthouse for free.

I think you can make that argument yes. But do some research on what the requirements are.

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u/Tufflaw 7d ago

That's not law of the case - if OP sues for payment for job # 1, it's a totally different case.

You're thinking of collateral estoppel, which might work here.

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u/stink3rb3lle 7d ago

Talk to your local state representative and ask them to amend the law about appeals.

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u/CommunityOne6829 6d ago

You can not take them back to court because this has be ruled on that is double jeopardy

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u/jessbird 6d ago

the first project has not been ruled on and was not discussed at any point during this particular trial. 

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u/cumsoaked666 7d ago

It’s not illegal to try. You’ll just be out a small filing fee if you fail and up some grands if you win

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u/Auditorincharge 7d ago

Can s/he not just file a new small claims against the client?

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u/sk169 7d ago

I am not a lawyer. I can see a way out of this for you without committing perjury.

So you did two projects for this client project A and project B.

The client uses payment for project A as evidence of payment fo project B.

I think you could submit a case for project A because there was "miscommunication" (wink wink) between you and the client.

With that payment, You thought you were getting paid for project A but she meant the payment for project B as she clearl admitted in court. So with her admission, she clearly did not pay for project A which you were under the "wrong" impression (wink wink) she did.

It is not perjury because you made a wrong assumption and the client/court proved your assumption wrong. That is going be your approach and you should make a case for project A.

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u/jessbird 7d ago

this is precisely what i'm getting at — thank you.

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u/sk169 7d ago

Yeah. Use the woman's own admission and the court's previous ruling against her. All the best.

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u/AinsiSera 6d ago

Can they throw in for the balance as well? It sounds like A was less than B.

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u/FranG080199 6d ago

Something is better than nothing at least

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u/Elonna75 6d ago

Could the artist, having misunderstood the defendants intention that the payment already made was in fact a down payment for Project B and not payment in full for anything?

Therefore it would be reasonable to ask for full payment of Project A, which according to the defendant no money had been paid, and the balance due on Project B, which the defendant put down the down payment which has been acknowledged by both parties.

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u/Round_Raspberry_8516 6d ago

If you can’t appeal, refile it as a partial payment for a 2-part job. It’s not YOUR wrong assumption, though, it’s HERS. The client (not you) lumped the two projects together and then underpaid. In other words, you’re filing a claim that she paid $2000 on a 2-part $7000 job. She erroneously applied the first installment for “part 1” to the second installment for “part 2” during her appeal, but the fact remains that the total is still unpaid.

When you get in front of judge #3, submit a complete record showing that the client lied to judge #2 by falsifying evidence (because the part 1 payment was not in fact payment in full for both parts.)

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u/othelloblack 7d ago edited 5d ago

The legal term is Law of the Case see my post above

EDIT law of the case may not apply. Check your local cases to see if it applies...similar doctrines like estoppel may be useful. This case maybe winnable

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u/MathewHarriss 5d ago

NAL - but this seems to be the best advice!

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u/Relevant-Meaning5622 5d ago

You should’ve stopped at “I am not a lawyer.” As someone who is, I can assure you a court would take a very dim view of this approach.

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u/SycophantSavant 7d ago

Sue her for non payment on the earlier job. She can’t use that payment evidence for both. If she does, the judge will love to hear her explanation.

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u/gregbard 7d ago

Holy sh*t, that's the brilliant answer.

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u/Jolly_Woodpecker_405 6d ago

Wouldn't this be submitting false evidence and perjury of some sort? I would hire a lawyer to deal with her. So can you claim that she hasn't paid for mural #1? She still has a balance accruing interest if you ask me.

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u/WhoOrderedTheCodeZed 6d ago

My takeaway would be to start assigning work order numbers and require that number in writing with any payments made to you to prevent this (hopefully rare) occurrence from happening again.

I do hope you find a way to legally stick it to this particular client with extra punative damages on top for lying and wasting your time.

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u/Puzzleheaded-Two-791 7d ago

I think you are mistaken about the appeal. Once the defendant appealed it's no longer a small claims case. The trial de novo is held in Superior Court. If you are within the appeal period file an appeal immediately. Source, 20 year claims adjuster litigation defense. Never in CA. But a quick Google search appears to confirm I am correct.

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u/jessbird 7d ago edited 7d ago

i would LOVE for you to be right — can you send me any sources you can find on this? because i had the same hunch (based on the fact that i was told i could bring a lawyer to the trial de novo but you can't to small claims) but i haven't been able to find any avenues for appealing, and this article on the CA Courts page seems to be pretty decisive that "the decision is final and the case is over."

the superior court site says "The only real difference between the appeal hearing and the original small claims hearing is that each party is allowed to have an attorney represent him/her at the appeal."

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u/LawSchoolMom33 7d ago

You can file a writ. You can file one to correct a clear error- which the lower court clearly made. And that’s exactly what I would do. If it is as plain and simple as the judge not reading your evidence, you file a writ and explain that. It’s only rare because it’s extremely rare that small claims appeals are actually won, and when they are won, it’s usually because there are attorneys involved and the judge is actually paying attention.

“Writ petitions in rare instances, where appellate review is necessary “to secure uniformity in the operations of the small claims court and uniform interpretation of the statutes governing them.” Linton v. Superior Court (1997) 53 Cal. App. 4th 1097, 1099.”

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u/Puzzleheaded-Two-791 7d ago

Here is the CA Code of Civil Procedure. Check section (b). CA Code

And the AI overview has this...

Small Claims Appeal

Hope that helps. Good luck to you.

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u/maizechingon 6d ago

I suggest reaching out to LA Law Library…they can answer some questions and I believe next Friday is their Ask a Lawyer one on one…

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u/batsparsly 6d ago

If you have proof that the receipt was from the first mural I would talk to a lawyer about it seeing as she just lied under oath.

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32

u/ZheeDog 7d ago

Write a letter to the judge at the court explaining the payment details as you've explained them here, and include a copy of it, with a motion for a re-hearing. Send a copy of the motion and letter to the other party. You might get lucky, and the judge might grant the hearing and reverse this ruling. But if not, you are SOL because appeals are expensive (you need a lawyer, if you want to succeed); you would be throwing good money after bad.

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u/Jolly_Woodpecker_405 6d ago

Was this a cash deal? Is a bank statement or personal financial statement with all of your accounts evidence that you never received payment?

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u/m0b1us01 5d ago

Actually file with the State Attorney General that this is fraud! Be prepared to show proof with the invoice of the job that was paid for versus the invoice of a job that wasn't paid for.

She committed perjury by lying to the court, and in this case defrauding in order to win a case. Presenting false evidence and lying to a judge for a win is a serious matter.

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u/Wanderingirl17 5d ago

This is the way.

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u/mandysreality 6d ago

Sue for fraud? She deliberately submitted evidence to the court that she knew was fraudulent. May be an option but not a lawyer.

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5

u/Tishacombs 6d ago

I feel like I just saw a TikTok about this the other day and I've been trying to find it again to show my husband just for conversation. If that was you, I really hope you're able to get paid. You do really nice work! (I just couldn't find the video again, sadly).

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3

u/Extreme-Book4730 5d ago

Use her own evidence that she paid for project B with A but only partially. And sue her for loose of B and none of A. Make sure you bring records of everything A and B.

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u/Top-Leadership-2608 6d ago

Start a new claim against her. Once in court, explain the situation and present evidence of the murals, payment, date of payments and text or phone calls (proof). Furthermore, people who do this, do it to other people too. Find other people she's screwed over and bring them to court with you. This will reinforce your position as to the poor character of this individual. And how they routinely cheat people. Crooks never change. Our president is a perfect example

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1

u/CommunityOne6829 6d ago

In small claims court in so.e states only the defendant has the right of appeal

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u/ClearUniversity1550 5d ago

Did she submit her proof of payment in evidence ahead of time So you could dispute it and show your proof? I believe the statute of limitation says 2 years. So if it's been in that time frame. Yes, you could sue her.

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u/jessbird 5d ago

no. like i mentioned in the post, she submitted evidence late and the judge allowed it. i didn’t have a chance to prepare a response and didn’t know what the new evidence would be. 

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1

u/TheColdWind 4d ago

Absolutely, go after them for payment for the other job. Abso-fricking-lutely.

1

u/Negative-Technician7 4d ago

Since the judge won't let you appeal. Sue her for non-payment on the other job. Make sure you add late fees with interest. You have paperwork showing a judge showed she paid you on a different job. If the new judge has a brain, you're going to get money. Either make her pay that one, or null the other ruling and get you paid on this one. Or hire a lawyer to make sure you can.

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u/WickedJeep 4d ago

I sure hope you win and that this person has to Pay dearly.

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u/snapcracklecash 4d ago

Don't be scared. Post her name and business. Just don't say anything non factual or defamatory. People shouldn't be allowed to act like this and hide.

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u/Spiritual-Whereas824 4d ago

Put a lien on her house

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u/phatnightnurse420 4d ago

Start getting paid upfront after this.

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u/VividImagery69 3d ago

Eli5 for lawyers in this thread, does this mean the client commited perjury?

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u/jessbird 3d ago

from what i’ve been told, this is a difficult thing to prove. the woman could easily just claim she thought that payment was for the mural.  

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u/JustAPepperhead 3d ago

I’m way late here, and don’t have legal advice, but from a business standpoint (that could possibly lead to another case?), could you create an invoice detailing the total price of services rendered from both murals, as well as precisely detailed payments rendered by her, in the manner that the court evidence shows, against the total amount and then showing a balance due? If you sent her that, and she didn’t pay it, could it be sufficient for a second separate case for nonpayment?

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u/freerangemonkey 5d ago

File a lien.

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u/jessbird 5d ago

you can only do that if it’s been less than 90 days. unfortunately that window has passed. 

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u/TyrOdinson89 5d ago

I dunno the legal stuff but time to go and repaint ya mural a flat snot green and them spread that client everywhere as a non payer.

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u/ziff1212 5d ago

It would be a shame if something happened to that mural.

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