[Nrsolis]

Sue first and sue often. Really.

You've already done most of the legwork on this. Now all you need to do is get this into small claims court.

Trust me: once KitSplit gets that notification from the court that they're being hauled into court and are going to need to hire a lawyer to defend themselves, you're gonna be working with a whole different level of people at Kitsplit. That's your best chance to get compensated.

SUE THE BASTARDS.

[pkaye]

Also having a small claims court case will quickly rack up the costs for the company if they hire a lawyer. For something like $3500 they may choose to settle.

[jahewson]

Lawyers are not typically present in small claims court - but they’re a corporation so I guess they have in-house council?

[prima-facie]

Or even better, reach out and band together with other users of the service who were misled and make a common complaint to the small claims court.

[staticautomatic]

EDIT: In some small claims courts, including CA, you can't have a lawyer represent you.

[Nrsolis]

Unless it's a corporation or other "legal person" and then they MUST have a lawyer (or principal in some states) from the company to answer the court.

When they have to hire a lawyer and you don't but you know the balance of facts are on your side, it's an advantage.

The goal is to get them to the table and choose a less painful resolution. Don't let them off the hook. SUE!

[inferiorhuman]

Nolo claims the opposite.

In a handful of states, including California, Michigan, and Nebraska, you must appear in small claims court on your own. In many states, however, you can be represented by a lawyer if you like. But even where it's allowed, hiring a lawyer is rarely cost efficient. Most lawyers charge too much compared to the relatively modest amounts of money involved in small claims disputes. Happily, several studies show that people who represent themselves in small claims cases usually do just as well as those who have a lawyer.

https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/small-claims-court-f...

[Nrsolis]

What does Nolo say about corporations or LLCs? That's what we are talking about here.

Individual people have the option of hiring a lawyer in some states but most don't. Corporations on the other hand, because they are "legal" and not "natural" persons don't get that right. They must be represented by counsel. A corporation can't represent itself in court because it's not a "natural person". They MUST use a lawyer.

[staticautomatic]

Not true. In CA, a business can hire outside counsel to advise them on the suit but outside counsel cannot represent them in court. There are circumstances in which the business can send an in-house lawyer as its agent, but never an outside one.

I'm not a lawyer but was once my former employer's agent in court in a small claims suit we filed against HP. I assure you there's no requirement that corporate parties be represented by lawyers.

[cthalupa]

How would this work for businesses? The owner or CEO gets dragged in? Seems unlikely, otherwise you could just DoS a business by keeping their leadership embroiled in small claims issues.

I imagine you can't have outside counsel represent you, but the business can probably send their own lawyer and delegate authority to them.

[cbsks]

When suing a corporation in small claims court in the state of California, an attorney may only be present if they are an officer or director of the corporation and all other officers and directors are attorneys.

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySectio...

The corporation doesn't need to be represented by an officer or director, however, they can also be represented by a non-attorney employee: "a corporation may appear and participate in a small claims action only through a regular employee, or a duly appointed or elected officer or director, who is employed, appointed, or elected for purposes other than solely representing the corporation in small claims court."

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySectio....

[cthalupa]

Looks like this is a per state thing. If my googling is accurate, this is only true in California, Michigan, and Nebraska. New York, where KitSplit is based, definitely allows a lawyer to represent you in small claims court.

[cbsks]

I can’t find an authoritative source right now, but some random legal advise websites mention that some states allow you to sue an out-of-state business in small claims court as long as you are a resident.

[duiker101]

I think they send an employee of the company. I don't remember the story but I read someone that was suing one of the big fast food chains and they just kept sending a store manager

[Eldt]

As a company they would need someone to represent them though, right? Would that not be a lawyer working for the company?

[Nrsolis]

Yup. A "legal person" like a corporation in the USA must have legal counsel to represent them in court, even small claims.

Court sucks. Any lawyer will tell you that you don't want the judge making the decision for you. They'll buy you a new camera if they are smart and fix their process.

Otherwise they will spend a lot more on lawyers than they ever would making you whole.

And yes, some companies get sued ALL THE TIME.