Off Topic: my smll claims suit

[Ash]

For you regulars here, you may remember me writing a post (in June)about the small claims suit I filed back in August.

In order to properly answer my query on this post, you must be briefed on what took place beforehand.  
After reading about what took place, come back here if & when you do read them please.

For a refresher on the facts of the case, go here:
http://www.badmovies.org/bbs/read.php?f=2&i=42033&t=42033

Many of you posted comments to my original thread....most were helpful...a few were just opinions and were not of assistance.  Either way...I thank you all for the input.
I consider you all intelligent advisors & allies in my quest to right this wrong against me even if be for "small potatoes" as Raj called it.

I had my court date yesterday (10-14) and things went completely differently than I thought they would.  
I would definitely admit that they went south.

We first entered into mediation which, within 10 minutes failed....(I timed it on my wristwatch)
My former employer offered me only $50 to cover my court costs.
I immediately rejected such nonsense as a slap in the face and we then proceeded right away to appear in front of a judge.

For one...the witness I subpoenaed (my former supervisor who had firsthand knowledge of the state of the door) was absolutely p**sed off that he had to be there in court missing work and decided to turn against me.
He was so angry that when I approached him before the mediation process he told me, "Just stay the f**k away from me...if I get into trouble with my current job because of this court bulls**t you & me are gonna have problems!"  

Rather than testify on my behalf as he should have, he actually produced a piece of the door and submitted it as evidence against me!  ( I have vowed that if I catch him unawares sometime, I'll make him pay...one way or another I'll get him back...juvenile as it sounds....would you not want retribution?  I'd bet a bundle that you would!)  

He claimed that the piece of evidence he produced, which was the part of the door that, if you turn the knob from right to left, extends & retracts, thereby allowing the door to remain shut was a direct result of my kicking the door.  He lied to the judge and told him that that piece flew clear of the door...which was probably the biggest load of bull I've ever heard...It did not fly clear because I examined the door after I kicked it and the door was completely intact.  
It had sustained NO additional damage.

My guess is that the piece in question was handed to him AFTER the maintenence people repaired the door.
He was just angry that he had to go to court for a person that he never really cared for (me) and decided that he would use it against me.

(FYI.....
I'm not a bad guy....just a regular guy like all of you...he, my betraying witness however, is a 45 year old loser, and in my unprovable opinion...upset with his life because he hasn't really achieved success in it as a lowly security guard and decided to take an up & coming guy like me with a future that is yet unwritten down a few notches to somehow justify his failures within his own life...

My attempt to discredit him is not out of anger for what he did to me in court...but based on his personality from my working with him for nearly a year.

I accused him as a liar to the judge and submitted that he was lying...though I could not prove it.  (trust me...he WAS lying even though he held up his right hand and swore an oath...if you knew him as I do...you'd agree with me...You know very well that not ALL people in this world tell the truth & that lots of people lie...he was one of them...his very presence was vindictive in nature against me when I sincerely believed he was there to support me...I was a fool to subpoena him...I now know that after the fact
The excessive amount of the cost of repairing the door was not an issue at all & was attributed to union labor...though I, and everyone else I talked with assumed it would be an issue.


What it eventually came down to was whether or not my former employer had the legal right to take my earned wages for the hours that I worked.

I left the trial feeling that I had indeed lost.  You'd agree with me had you been there.  Please believe me when I say that I do not presume to speak for you all when I say such things.  It's just that I'm an "average Joe" who got f**king screwed.  

The entire thing seemed to go completely against me.  
My former employer even had a sadistic grin of impending victory on his face throughout the proceedings.

NEVERTHELESS...

Here is the Iowa Code Chapter 91A.5 which reads and I quote:

91A.5  Deductions from wages.
1.  An employer shall not withhold or divert any portion of an employee's wages unless:

a.  The employer is required or permitted to do so by state or federal law or by order of a court of competent jurisdiction; or

b.  The employer has written authorization from the employee to so deduct for any lawful purpose accruing to the benefit of the employee.

2.  The following shall not be deducted from an employee's wages:

a.  Cash shortage in a common money till, cash box, or register operated by two or more employees or by an employee and an employer. However, the employer and a full-time employee who is the manager of an establishment may agree in writing signed by both parties that the employee will be responsible for a cash shortage that occurs within forty-five days prior to the most recent regular payday. Not more than one such agreement shall be in effect per establishment.

b.  Losses due to acceptance by an employee on behalf of the employer of checks which are subsequently dishonored if the employee has been given the discretion to accept or reject such checks and the employee does not abuse the discretion given.

c.  Losses due to breakage, damage to property, default of customer credit, or nonpayment for goods or services rendered so long as such losses are not attributable to the employee's willful or intentional disregard of the employer's interests.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The article in question here is section C.

"Losses due to breakage, damage to property, default of customer credit, or nonpayment for goods or services rendered so long as such losses are not attributable to the employee's willful or intentional disregard of the employer's interests."

But....I also submit that, at the time of my action, I was NOT an employee of Nighthawk Security.  
I had been terminated minutes before.
Because I was no longer an employee of Nighthawk Security, that statute cannot be held against me.

Had I not been wrongfully terminated in the first place, my actions would never have taken place.  (A point Paquita makes in her previous post if you read it)

The keyword in that statute is "employee" which, at the time of my action, I was not.
From what I heard the judge say if I remember correctly, he said it didn't matter what amount of time had passed since my termination.  
He seemed to insist that my actions were "willful negative actions" aginst my employers.
-----------------------------------------------------------

I disagree.

Whether it be 30 seconds, 30 minutes or 30 days....I was NOT an employee of Nighthawk Security when I booted that door.  
The incident happened AFTER I was terminated.

I cannot have intentional or willful disreguard for my employer if I am no longer employed by them at the time of the incident.
Logic dictates such facts.  (not to sound like Spock...well maybe a little...after all...how many times did his logic get Kirk out of a jam?)

Remember again that this door was broken many months before this incident though my efforts to prove that in court were somewhat circumvented by my dickhead, backstabbing witness.

I personally feel that I was the scapegoat in this process of the door's eventual and inevitable repair...It was just easier for them to place the blame on me and take my pay to cover its replacement rather than to cover it themselves....but of course I cannot prove this..

I also can tell you that the judge did not render judgement right then & there...he stated that there were "other stipulations" that he must take into consideration before he pronounced his decision.  I am to receive his judgement via mail soon.

Please refrain from giving your opinion and instead focus on the facts and what chances you think I have.
Thanks.

If I do indeed lose this case, do you think I have a reasonable appeal?



Post Edited (10-16-03 01:28)

[Neon Noodle]

Unfortunately, without a real witness (not like the backstabber you had, sorry about that BTW) or photographic evidence that the door was damaged before you kicked it (any surveilance tapes catch the door being busted beforehand?), it doesn't look too good.
The false testimony sucks - but maybe there's a way to have him brought over as a hostile witness? Ask your lawyer about that one.

[Scott]

People don't realize that the only thing keeping us from hunting down, killing, and torturing our enemies is the law. The law keeps them alive. My advice ASHTHECAT is let it go as you have done what you could and that should be enough because anything else would not be in your interest. Those who have falsly judged and acted against you are now responsible.

Unfortunately that small kick of the door cost you. You have to remember that the world has no goal and judges people based on laws and ways that have no meaning. Peoples honesty is twisted by a simple dollar. Some go around simply building their resumes at your expense. You have systems that are created for a few in the fields of business and law and you have people who spend alot of money getting educated in the ways of this poorly created way of life. This gives them authority over you. The subject is so much larger than man has yet to comprehend. The gap appears  to big for them to cross over. For this reason man falls short on both sides of the law. Man has no goal.

My advice is just do what's in your best interest and if you can get some satifaction within that boundry then let it be so.

Consider the size of a moment and the degree of a thing. It sounds as though you are done with this and you now have the opportunity to move on with your life.

[Fearless Freep]

Hate to say it but if your only witness is a person wwhos livelihood is still dependent on the person against whom he would be testifying, unless he is a very honest and upright individual who would risk his job for your sake,  you are pretty much out of luck.  (Given the above, I would say he is not such a man)

Your only real hope is/was that there is documentation (in the form of a repair request or safety violation or something) that indicates that the door was broken prior to you kicking it.

I would *not* hang your hat on the issue of "I was not an employee at the time..." because you had just gotten fired.  Because if you were not en employee, and they have to give you back the money they kept, then all they need to do is turn around and sue you for damages like anyone who walked in and detroyed their property, and now they have a witness that says you did it

[Brother Ragnarok]

Didn't you tell me at one point that there were some "request to fix it" forms or something put in about that door?  Those could have been handy.
As for the rest, people are stupid as rocks.  I'm sorry, but I don't see this one swinging in your favor.  After all, it was a judge's ruling that gave precedence for fat people being able to sue McDonald's for eating their food and getting fat.

Brother R

[The Burgomaster]

Bottom line is, they had no right to take repair money out of your wages. The proper course of action would be for them to pay you, and then sue you for the damages. Tampering with payroll is a no-no.

Did you pursue this with the Department of Labor?

[raj]

Gotta agree with Burgomaster, try telling your story to state officials, they may have some other solutions.  Also, with Brother R's comment about "fix it" requests, a document demand from the state may produce more than the same demand from you.  Unfortunately it does look like the company has intimidated your witness.  If there's ever a way you could prove that he committed perjury, persue it.  Judges don't like to be made fools of.

One question for the judge though, why would you call a guy as a witness when he's so 100% against your case?

Good luck.

[JohnL]

>Please refrain from giving your opinion and instead focus on the facts and what
>chances you think I have.

I think you're going to lose. It sucks, but from what you've said, I doubt the judge will find any reason not to rule against you.

>If I do indeed lose this case, do you think I have a reasonable appeal?

Without some kind of evidence, the results would probably be the same.

Some ideas, I don't know if they would be worth doing, or even wise, but...

Confront the supervisor about what he did, with a mini-tape recorder in your pocket. Don't make it obvious just ask him, how could you do that to me? How could you lie in court like that? Play that for the judge.

Tell them that you're willing to take a polygraph test and challenge the supervisor to do the same. While the results aren't admissable in court, it wouldn't look very good if you were eager to take one and the supervisor refused.

[Ash]

Well you guys were right...

I did lose the case.

I mentally prepered myself for that conclusion in advance so when I opened the envelope addressed to me from the clerk of court, I was not suprised.
The judge simply dismissed the case against me.

I still cannot believe I lost.  
In the beginning I was 100% sure that I had it won hook, line & sinker.

I do feel that if my backstabbing witness had not been there, I would've had a decent chance.

Maybe I'll take paint thinner and pour it all over his nice new truck in the middle of the night while he & his wife are sleeping.  He lives less than a mile from me.

Oh well, I'll probably not do that.  I do know right from wrong and don't want to get in trouble with the law.
The last thing I need is a vandalism charge against me.
I do believe in karma though.
What goes around comes around I say...but it's a fine idea...don't you think?
A fitting resolution for a lowly backstabbing b***h!

I am mulling whether to appeal or not.
I think I will.  I'm not one to give up a fight so easily.

If I win the appeal, let them countersue me, I have no bank account for them to garnish.  I keep all my money in a safe.  
They'll go through hell trying to get it from me.

Even if they do sue me, it'll take precious time out of their schedules...which is money lost to them.

f**k 'em all I say.

It's sad when an honest, hard working guy like me gets screwed by the system.

There should be a f**king law against it.



Post Edited (10-17-03 03:02)

[wickednick]

f**k ya man you show those f**king a***oles whos the man.They f**ked you and I say you get them back twice as hard.

[kirk]

You didn't get screwed by the system, you got fired, lost your temper and kicked a foor.

Try to keep your cool next time.  Learn and move on.

Kirk

[Jim H]

You should burn Nighthawk's HQ to the ground.

[Evan3]

I have a question, would it be possible to get an anonymous affadavit  or written testimony, signed by your co-workers on the state of the door, because that way they could not be intimidated by the company.

In any case, you should be more careful on who you call as your witness. That was a fatal slip you had, but by law, business can not harm the job secrity of a witness, and so his reasonings were absolute bull s**t. I dont know how you let him get past you?

Anyways, Ash, the most important thing is to learn from your mistakes, find a new attack tactic, and also, you need to decide if the money you recuperate will cover the costs of court AND leave you with a profit. If not, I say f**k it.  But if you win the appeal, I find it very unlikely that they will go to court over such a small claim, since they already dont want a long dragged out lawsuit.


Best of luck, and hope I helped.

[Deej]

Firstly...

Evan3 wrote:

> I have a question, would it be possible to get an anonymous
> affadavit  or written testimony, signed by your co-workers on
> the state of the door, because that way they could not be
> intimidated by the company.

If it was signed, it wouldn't be anonymous. Unsigned affidavits are probably hear-say evidence in that they don't constitute first-hand knowlege from an identifiable person(could be wrong though)

ASH, this sucks(but you knew that). I'm in court at least 2-3 times a week, more often now that I'm with a municipal police department. The s**tty fact is that judges and court officials are used to, and even expect people to lie. You were honest and admitted you "booted" the door. You said "booted" the judge probably heard "drop-kicked".

You're supervisor lied under oath, because he's a soul-less, cowardly, douche. Happens every day, and sadly it's almost impossible to do anything about. As far as seeking retribution on him, let it go, if his existence is as vapid as you described it, the fact that you know it is victory enough.

If you sincerely feel you have a case, by which I mean not only that you feel you were wronged and deserve to be recompensed, but that you have a chance to win , by all means appeal. I don't know what court costs are for small claims, but if you can afford it, by all means, drag them back in to court, bring your lying assed ex-supervisor back in. You said he mentioned trouble with his "current" job, by which I assume he is no longer employed by Nighthawk. If that's the case, maybe he'll realize it's better to tell the truth and bare out your testimony, than lie and risk further absenses from his new job. Maybe, you can annoy the suits into, giving in and compensating you fairly. Could be that it costs the legal department more than it's worth to them to keep fighting this out.

 Several people mentioned estimates for the repair of the door, maybe that's a good idea which may allow you to, if not claim all the pay you are due, at least to lessen the withheld amount and get you at least some compensation.

I'm not a lawyer , and when I am in court, it's on the side of the Jack-Booted Thugs. But, I am sorry you've found yourself in this situation. It's a damn shame that bad things are usually done to good people. I wish you the best of luck. And remember, no vandalism or arson!!! At least not in Oklahoma City, I don't need the paperwork! Good Luck, ASH!!



Post Edited (10-26-03 02:54)