Updated September 2, 2018
It's advantageous for us to deliver as many claims as possible at the same time to the Small Claims office in the hopes that a judge may request a meeting to plan how to efficiently and effectively present the multiple cases in court to save the small claims courts time and money.
The fee to file in small claims court is $50 to file a suit (plus $15 to serve the notice) that asks for $2500. We recommended this amount for 2 reasons.
1) Four months of ongoing nuisance @ $2500 = or about $21/day, a
reasonable amount to request. Sometimes judges will ask for more specific
reasons for choosing that figure. We can say that's $1 for every hour we're
exposed to, or expecting to be exposed to, the dreadful runway noise,
assuming we hear it 21 hours a day unless we're in a deep sleep.
If 100 residents are awarded a claim, SF must pay $250,000. Provided the
amount you're asking for is $2500 or less, the process can be repeated up
to10 times* during the calendar year.
*Individuals may ask for up to $2500 an unlimited number of times in a calendar year, BUT if you file over 10 claims,
you risk being put into a "vexatious litigant" category.
2) If we are successful, the City of San Francisco will likely appeal the
verdict, but the odds are in our favor of our winning the appeal.
(If the awarded amount exceeds $2500 per person, the appeal process
could be more complicated by their insurers filing an additional appeal. )
The Small Claims office in Redwood City says that if we bring in the mass claim forms, they'll work with us to find
dates that can accommodate the largest groups. If you wish to make your own appearance plans, that's your right, but
without a large backup of people who will testify along with you, your case may or may not be viewed as strong by the
judge.
If you are unable to attend a Wednesday evening appearance in
Redwood City, please let us know if a Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday
We will try to put you in touch with others with the same need so that
you can form your own large group.
Please remember how vital it is to appear in a large group.
You should receive a notice from Small Claims providing you with a hearing date
and time that will be quite a ways away.
WITH THE APPEARANCE DATE YOU RECEIVED
FROM SMALL CLAIMS COURT.
Don't count your chickens before they hatch!!!
