This is a "post small claims verdict" question, pertaining to an experience I had with a contractor about a year ago.
I hired a fence company to put up a vinyl privacy fence on my property complete with gates. Long story short, it went very badly. The contractor was impossible to deal with. So much so, I hired an attorney to deal with his verbal hostility.
The purpose of my attorney was also to faciliate an agreement that would've ensured the fence was brought to up industry standards and backed with a warranty (as previously promised) by the company. It also would have also ensured he was paid in full when work was complete and inspected by an independent expert.
Getting an agreement to materialize was impossible. He expected me to make concessions for certain repairs, or if he did finally agree to all repairs, he would be revoking his warranty. It was a go nowhere situation. He finally grew impatient, serving me with a small claims lawsuit.
My attorney was amused by this, ensuring me a very easy win once the judge saw my photos. He told me to countersue for breach of contract and breach of warranty. So I did. The award I sought was for removal of the fence and all monies refunded.
Court didn't go as planned. I lost. The rub? I was ordered to give him MORE money. Granted, the judge reduced his award nearly 70% after acknowledging the defects in my photos. But my countersuit was dismissed, the judge could only order the transfer of monies stating "because you have something on your property you receive some benefit from, you cannot have something for nothing"
It was a dismal end to what should have been a victorious day.
Crushed the judge hardly permitted me to utter a word of testimony. It was nothing like how I thought it would be. I left court feeling broken. What kind of message did this verdict send contractors like him? This was zero consumer advocacy.
I realized I still had another opportunity to appeal the decision in Superior Court court. At least there, my attorney could represent me and the judge would have the power to render decisions such as "removal of materials and issue a refund". On the other hand, the judge might also order the contractor back to my property to make the necessary repairs and get paid in full. I didn't want to deal with them anymore!
Not knowing the odds and feeling jaded by the system, I paid my verdict and left it at that. Eventually hiring another contractor to fix all the damage that was done, paying twice.
