Filing claim in Small Claims court for damages from dog attack

[chicknmania]

Has anyone done this? I wrote a detailed letter and itemized statement describing what I wanted in restitution, after my neighbor's dogs attacked our flock. They had offered to make restitution. My neighbors asked me to put the information in their mail box, and I told them i did so. That was on Thursday. Crickets chirping on their side...not a peep of acknowledgement, nothing. I thought my requests were reasonable. Now it appears i may have to file a claim in small claims court, but I've heard a lot of negative things that this doesn't really produce much. Can someone fill me in on what documentation the Court might need and what to expect? The animal control office here in our County is a joke...no help at all. I do have a Sheriff's report documenting the incident.

 

[MROO]

Send the information in a registered letter - one that requires they sign for it, so you have proof that you contacted them. Right now, they could simply say that they never got it. It's also technically illegal to use a mailbox for anything other than USPS items, Everybody does it, even though they're not supposed to. If things get goofy, you're doubly covered by using the official postal service and having an official acknowledgement (the signature) of delivery.

 

[SourRoses]

Check the minimum claim needed to file in small claims. In some places it's $400. If you asked for less in your letter, it's going to be hard to sue for the minimum amount. Basically, it would be evidence against yourself.
So don't write anything else until you know for sure! And make sure you can prove you send it like Mroo said.
You should lay out the amount of time you expect to hear from them in your letter. It can't be just a couple days. I think it's fairly standard to request a response within 10 business days, 7 might do. Whatever you send will be seen by a judge so you should write it as if he/she is looking over your shoulder, meaning don't seem impatient or emotional.
Those are some fairly loose suggestions, but to be sure you should call your county courthouse and speak to the clerk. Many jurisdictions will offer all the information you need because it's understood people don't have legal representation in small claims.
The closer you follow all of the procedures and stipulations, the more favorably the judge will look on you.

 

[Acre4Me]

Send the information in a registered letter - one that requires they sign for it, so you have proof that you contacted them. Right now, they could simply say that they never got it. It's also technically illegal to use a mailbox for anything other than USPS items, Everybody does it, even though they're not supposed to. If things get goofy, you're doubly covered by using the official postal service and having an official acknowledgement (the signature) of delivery.

This is exactly what I was going to say.

They could refuse to sign for it, so you may want to put the return address in the back flap, or have it less obvious, in case they really are avoiding the problem.

If you have not done so, you may also want to consider reporting the incident to the police so that there is a record of the incident. If it happens again and again, then you could have grounds -based on facts- to get a resolution to a recurring problem. But, can negatively impact relations with neighbor -but if it’s a recurring issue then they’ve already negatively impacted the relationship before you did.

Good luck

 

[chicknmania]

Send the information in a registered letter - one that requires they sign for it, so you have proof that you contacted them. Right now, they could simply say that they never got it. It's also technically illegal to use a mailbox for anything other than USPS items, Everybody does it, even though they're not supposed to. If things get goofy, you're doubly covered by using the official postal service and having an official acknowledgement (the signature) of delivery.

Yeah, I know, I had reservations about putting it in the mailbox, but i have it in writing from him instructing me to do so, so I am covered as far as I know. Yes, that will be my next step, certified mail.

 

[chicknmania]

This is exactly what I was going to say.

They could refuse to sign for it, so you may want to put the return address in the back flap, or have it less obvious, in case they really are avoiding the problem.

If you have not done so, you may also want to consider reporting the incident to the police so that there is a record of the incident. If it happens again and again, then you could have grounds -based on facts- to get a resolution to a recurring problem. But, can negatively impact relations with neighbor -but if it’s a recurring issue then they’ve already negatively impacted the relationship before you did.

Good luck

Thank you, I did file a report with the Sheriff's department, and the neighbor assured me and the Deputy that they would make restitution. It just makes me livid because this was a huge loss. I thought of the refusal to sign too, so I was gonna use our farm name (which they don't know, I don't think) and our post office box address.

But, as far as actually filing...do I need a lawyer? I did speak with ours, and he doesn't specialize in loss claims like that, although he did recommend filing in Small Claims. So did Animal Control. But idk what I need as far as documentation, to claim damages...or do I need anything? All I've seen on line is that I can claim what I already have: Market value of the birds, loss of time from work, loss of income from sale of eggs and peachicks. And yes, I understand they're our neighbors, but they are not close neighbors, they live almost a mile away. I couldn't care less about relationships with them. I will make sure to let everyone else in the neighborhood know about their dogs though and what happened with us, because practically everyone living here has livestock of some kind. We've lived here 25 years and have never had a dog attack, except one 20 years ago, and in that case, it was just one dog and it just got some tail feathers.

 

[chicknmania]

Check the minimum claim needed to file in small claims. In some places it's $400. If you asked for less in your letter, it's going to be hard to sue for the minimum amount. Basically, it would be evidence against yourself.
So don't write anything else until you know for sure! And make sure you can prove you send it like Mroo said.
You should lay out the amount of time you expect to hear from them in your letter. It can't be just a couple days. I think it's fairly standard to request a response within 10 business days, 7 might do. Whatever you send will be seen by a judge so you should write it as if he/she is looking over your shoulder, meaning don't seem impatient or emotional.
Those are some fairly loose suggestions, but to be sure you should call your county courthouse and speak to the clerk. Many jurisdictions will offer all the information you need because it's understood people don't have legal representation in small claims.
The closer you follow all of the procedures and stipulations, the more favorably the judge will look on you.

In my line of work I frequently have to produce documentation so I can write a pretty good letter. I thought it was excellent. I did give them til just today to pay (I delivered the letter on Thursday) but I fully expected them to respond at least by saying they received it, since I asked them to. If he had just acknowledged receipt and asked for some time, then I would have been OK with that. I probably should cool my jets a bit, as I just delivered a pretty heated voice mail to his voice mail when he didn't answer. But it was living hell going through what we went through. I just can't let it go that easily. The Clerk of Courts isn't allowed to give much in the way of legal advice, but they may offer some suggestions, I'll see.

 

[chicknmania]

In my line of work I frequently have to produce documentation so I can write a pretty good letter. I thought it was excellent. I did give them til just today to pay (I delivered the letter on Thursday) but I fully expected them to respond at least by saying they received it, since I asked them to. If he had just acknowledged receipt and asked for some time, then I would have been OK with that. I probably should cool my jets a bit, as I just delivered a pretty heated voice mail to his voice mail when he didn't answer. But it was living hell going through what we went through. I just can't let it go that easily. The Clerk of Courts isn't allowed to give much in the way of legal advice, but they may offer some suggestions, I'll see.

And, I didn't ask for less. I asked for $847.00 and laid out exactly why, every penny. And everyone here thinks I should have asked for more. But, I was trying to be reasonable. I could sue them in small claims here for up to $6,600.00...so my lawyer said.

 

[SourRoses]

In my line of work I frequently have to produce documentation so I can write a pretty good letter. I thought it was excellent. I did give them til just today to pay (I delivered the letter on Thursday) but I fully expected them to respond at least by saying they received it, since I asked them to. If he had just acknowledged receipt and asked for some time, then I would have been OK with that. I probably should cool my jets a bit, as I just delivered a pretty heated voice mail to his voice mail when he didn't answer. But it was living hell going through what we went through. I just can't let it go that easily. The Clerk of Courts isn't allowed to give much in the way of legal advice, but they may offer some suggestions, I'll see.

Yeah, I would definitely try to rein it in a bit. Angry voice mail not good.
Expecting a response over the weekend is not something a judge is going to look at and say "Oh how dare they not pay up?". If they were going to comply, they wouldn't be able to draw hundreds of dollars from the bank on a weekend. Or they could possibly be off doing weekend stuff. You gave them 1 business day to respond and now you're leaving angry messages


I would be mad about the birds too. But when a judge may get involved, you have to choke that back or you will make mistakes and you will lose. The goal should be to win so the negligent dog owner learns they can't do this anymore. Don't forget to add on pain & suffering from the loss of beloved pets, the judge is not likely to grant it but it helps to increase the dollar value of your suit.

 

[Brooks_]

The Clerk of Courts isn't allowed to give much in the way of legal advice,

They cannot, but they can tell you exactly what forms.

I asked for $847.00 and laid out exactly why

Do you mind sharing the breakdown here?