Non-payment Update

[jujubee]

I wrote a little while ago about a client refusing to pay until I did even more work for him. I busted my butt and offered free rounds to begin with then his demands became excessive. I stopped and demanded payment as per contract in order to continue. He refused.

So I went to small claims court (no attorney would take it on for the "small" amount) and filed.

I just received letter today from the court stating that the ruling was in my favor and that he would have to pay. I scanned that letter in and emailed it to him stating the following (I heard horror stories of people refusing to pay...):

DATE: 3/6/2010


Tim,

I have been awarded judgment in the amount of $**** by the Trial Court of Massachusetts. Please see the attached legal document, DOCKET NUMBER: 201010SC000041. I have the legal right to request this PAYMENT ORDER upon your receipt of this document.

PAYMENT ORDER in the amount of $**** can be made immediately via Paypal.com website to:
****@***.com

This docket and ruling is also made public by the government website.

In light of this ruling, I reserve my legal right to the following actions:

1.To report this JUDGMENT and DOCKET NUMBER to the three Credit Bureaus which will go on record: Equifax, Transunion, and Experian.
2.To report this JUDGMENT and DOCKET NUMBER to your Bank Officers.
3.To report this JUDGMENT and DOCKET NUMBER to the Better Business Bureau.
4.To report this JUDGMENT and DOCKET NUMBER to the Secretary of State of California.
5.To report this JUDGMENT and DOCKET NUMBER to the Office of the Attorney General of the State of California.
6.I reserve the right to make known this JUDGMENT and DOCKET NUMBER to my websites which is covered under the First Amendment regarding Freedom of Speech.
7.To report this JUDGMENT and DOCKET NUMBER to a Collection Agency.
8.I reserve the right to issue a Writ of Capias for failure to pay.
9.I reserve the right to bring about further legal action regarding copyright infringement.
10.I reserve all copyrights regarding the usage of my works. Since you have failed to make payment as per written and signed contractual terms and according to this JUDGMENT, you have forfeited all rights and claims to use these images in any context whatsoever.

It is my recommendation that you strongly consider immediate payment in light of this JUDGMENT."

I thought you'd might want to know that I was paid within an hour of sending this email. I hope this information and letter might help people out that might encounter a similar situation.


I also wrote more about the case and process here:
http://www.lunarlog.com/2010/02/smal...t-for-artists/

And in case you're wondering, I'm still going to pursue it further in order to make a point.

[Polygonstate]

That's pretty cool.
Word of advice with future stuff like that.

I dealt with law bullcrap for the past 14 months getting divorced and your last sentence is pretty dangerous even in the light of what happened. Once you tell the other party that you will do something if he doesn't pay and you "recommend him to strongly consider paying" you are pretty much threatening him. He'll pay of course but he can sue you now for the way you told him to do so. Legal territory is a dangerous place lol. Next time just tell people you're awaiting immediate payment. It's simply safer

[jujubee]

What's threatening? I don't make idle threats - I follow through on what I say I'm going to do.

I disagree with you but I do agree in the sense that this (the letter stated above) is dangerous territory if you don't know your rights.

I have the legal right to state the truth and report these findings to those agencies as stated. That's not a threat. Talk may be cheap but I walk the walk. The court order/judgment is a legal right to pursue moneys owned. There's also something called the First Amendment Freedom of Speech in the US. It's also important to differentiate between libel and slander - which generally involves talking or writing falsely about a company. There's nothing false about this - this is a court order. The decision has already been made and it was in my favor. What I said is mild compared to what a collections agency would have said - they would stand outside his business and snap photos of everything he owned as well his employees. They'd even go so far as to call up his grandmother.

Threatening for example would be is if I said, "I'm gonna break your legs if you don't pay." Now that would be considered a threat. The court generally doesn't give a shit about "what he said" and "what she said." They hear that all the time in the US, and especially in small claims court.

And no, he can't sue me for money he is legally obliged to owe lol. This is just a means to get him to pay in a timely manner (which I may add should have been paid 3 months ago.) There's a high percentage (greater than 50%) that the majority of small claims rulings in the US end up in non-payment, especially when it crosses state lines.

Anyways, I'm not an attorney (so don't follow me and be forewarned) although I've talked with three in the course of this whole mess - one copyright attorney in California said that I could approach the credit bureaus, BBB, and secretary of State after receiving the ruling. You guys make your own decisions and your own risks - I'll go ahead and take mine. I just know I got paid today and didn't have to walk away.

[PIXELBOX_SRO]

be happy guys, you at least can do something about these thing.

courts in czech dont work at all ...an mostly not in favour of those with rights..... it can take years to wint a trial, if youre lucky enough to win it.

[jujubee]

Our courts are not perfect either. Twice the court officials wrongly told me I could leave as the defendant didn't show up. Twice they were wrong because they didn't realize he wrote a letter instead.

They also only paid me how much they originally owed. So while I "won", there was no punishment for his actions. However, I was forced to wait a couple of months because of this.

Also, just because a court here in the US awards you, it doesn't mean that the defendant will pay. If he chose not to pay, there's no way to get that small amount of money as he lives in another state. They also will not arrest him. He can simply avoid it. That is why I wrote him a scary letter, and posted it here in case anyone else encounters a similar situation. These are your rights in this country.

Last but not least (and I didn't post this on my blog), if someone wants to in another state, they don't have to answer the initial letter from the court. They can simply pretend the letter never showed up and the case will get dismissed. I think you can pay extra to have a constable/officer show up and hand-deliver the letter. However, I was fortunate that this guy replied to the letter the court sent him.

I am very thankful for this, but quite honestly this only happened because I put in the effort/work and wanted revenge. I see too many people on this forum that "walk away" from not getting paid. And even if they do win in court, they still don't get paid. That shouldn't happen.

[percydaman]

Nice job man. One win for the little guy.

[glyph]

congratulations!
(here in the uk a small claims judgement cannot be easily avoided)

[jujubee]

What do they do in the UK?

[Morbid Angel]

same in canada. No one would be fighting over lets say 1,000 dollars. So if your client decides not to pay, pretty much nothing you can do. Unless you want to pay 10,000 to the lawyers to maybe get some where...Or... call some of your russian mob friends.

[3DMK]

One easy way to avoid most of these types of clients is to charge a 40-50% deposit. This usually sorts out the good from the bad in my experience. It automatically forces THEM to trust YOU instead of the other way around.
I also have never had a client refuse to pay the deposit either.

Hope this helps

[arobbert]

A watermark across the image is a good way to handle this as well. Payment in full (check cleared or credit card) before the watermark comes off.

[glyph]

now you've made me go and look it up..
enforcing a judgment in the uk seems to be under the jursudiction of the courts and county bailiff
so if the person disappears you're done.. but companies need to pay to avoid the negative reputation

anyway the people I know who've gone down this route and won have received payment
- often the defendant does not turn up at court so loses the case by default

[glorybound]

I always require a deposit with new clients and ones I trust I don't. My last client paid me before I was even completed. It all depends on who you work with I guess.

[jujubee]

Well, all my work is watermarked now.

I don't require a down payment on a tiny amount like $1,000 - especially if it's a tight turnaround. On a lot of money, yes.