Tried filing a small claims case myself last month and got a real surprise in the outcome

I had a dispute with a homeowner who owed me $1,200 for a job I finished in Edmonton back in February. He just kept making excuses and ghosting me, so I figured I'd take him to small claims court without a lawyer. I filled out all the forms at the courthouse downtown and paid the $100 filing fee. When we got to the hearing, the guy showed up with a stack of blurry photos claiming my work was shoddy. I had my own photos and a signed receipt, but the judge sided with him because my invoice didn't have a specific completion date on it. I learned the hard way that paperwork details matter way more than I thought in court. Has anyone else here lost a small claims case over a missing line in their contract?

2 comments

2 Comments

bettyk531mo ago

Wait, he showed up with blurry photos and a receipt with no date on it and the judge sided with him? That's unbelievable. I mean, you actually had a signed receipt from the guy proving you did the work, and the judge just ignored that because of a missing completion date? That seems like a way too strict interpretation of the rules, especially for a small claims case where things are supposed to be more relaxed. I get that paperwork matters, but throwing out a whole case over a single missing line on an invoice feels like the judge was looking for a reason to rule against you.

wood.john1mo ago

Oh wow, "looking for a reason to rule against you" - that's about the nicest way I've heard it put. I mean, at this point the judge might as well have asked for the receipt to be notarized and delivered by a trained pigeon. It's small claims court, not the Supreme Court confirmation hearings. Missing a completion date on an invoice? Half my receipts look like they were written on a napkin after three beers, and that's on a good day. Maybe the judge was just in a bad mood or had a grudge against whoever does your kind of work that day.