Page 27 - Sonoma County Gazatte May 2017

DEAR READERS: Do you have a legal question on your mind? If so, please email me at debra@newbylawoffice.com. Your name will remain confidential. This Q & A Legal Column is intended as a community service to discuss general legal principles and does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Dear Mi ed Monet:
I am a local artist who makes pottery and “funky creations” like wind chimes
and the like. A few months ago I entered into a contract with a store owner to sell my art. The Owner would keep 60% (for overhead and e ort) and I would receive 40% once the art sold. The good news is that ALL of my art sold. The bad news is that when I dropped by the store, the Owner proclaimed that she was broke and refused to pay me. What are my options?
Dear Mi ed Monet:
Hummm...sounds like the proverbial “robbing Peter to pay Paul” story.
Managing money is a basic skill set for any business owner. Perhaps the Store needs a refresher course.
You mentioned that you had a contract with the Owner. Hopefully, your contract is in writing, as oral contracts are not worth the paper they are written on. The most obvious rst step is to re-approach the Owner with a rm yet polite reminder of the contractual obligations that were made. If the Owner continues to delay and balk at their responsibilities, you may consider ling a lawsuit against the Owner in small claims court. Below is a short checklist of some of the features of small claims court, so you can determine if you qualify:
• The damages you seek must be $10,000 or less.
• You should make sure that your complaint is timely led, meaning that you have complied with the statute of limitations. If your contract is oral, you must le within two years from the date the other party broke the contract. If you have a written contract, you must le within four years of the breach of contract.
• You should le the action in the county where the defendant (i.e. the Owner) resides or in the county where the alleged injury/damages occurred.
• NO ATTORNEYS are allowed in small claims court, so be prepared. Bring copies of any key documents to prove that you have been wronged and that damages/ monies are due.
Your matter will be heard by a Judge or trained attorney sitting for the bench. The hearings are very quick—15 to 20 minutes. Preparation is key. The process can be intimidating for the “newbies”, but have no fear. Here in Sonoma County we are lucky to have a Free Small Claims Clinic sta ed by 3rd and 4th year law students at Empire College School of Law. The law students are supervised by a licensed attorney and are well versed in the small claims process, what forms you will need, how much the ling fee is, how to serve the defendant, how to prepare for your hearing, etc. Check out their link at www.empcol.edu/small-claims-advice.
The Empire Law School Small Claims Clinic is open for walk-in hours on Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:30-6 pm. Telephone hours are on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:30-6 pm. Call 707-521-6534.
Small claims court is a viable alternative for disputes that are valued at $10,000 or less. The process is a lot cheaper and quicker than a full-blown lawsuit. Often the dispute is resolved within 1-3 months after ling your small claims action.
We are so lucky to have a local law school that o ers this free clinic to the public. Next month I will address the other valuable and community oriented clinics o ered by Empire Law School...all free. Stay tuned!
In the meantime, I hope you can resolve your dispute with the Owner. Artists should be honored and revered. Without art—painting, sculpting, music, writing, creating—we would have no cause, no reason to explore our inner sanctuaries. Art enriches our lives. As the French novelist, Gustave Flaubert, quipped, “On certain occasions art can shake very ordinary spirits, and whole worlds can be revealed by its clumsiest interpreters.”
Debra A. Newby is a resident of Monte Rio and has practiced law for 35 years. She is
a member of the California, Texas and Sonoma County Bar Associations and currently maintains an active law office in SR which emphasizes personal injury law (bicycle/ motorcycle/motor vehicle accidents, dog bites, trip and falls, etc.). Debra can be reached via email (debra@newbylawoffice.com), phone (707-526-7200), or fax (526-7202).
Signed: Mi ed Monet
If anyone deserves a GOOD EGG AWARD
it’s Bruce Cohn. Most of us here know Bruce in one way or another, but I want to remind you of what he has done for Petaluma. For several years,
he has hosted The Petaluma
Holiday Treasure Hunt. The
intent of the hunts was to get
Petaluma people out and about
in the town. Bruce financed the
hunts out of his own pocket, but
his real intent was to highlight
the treasures of the town. Bruce
was the spearhead behind
Helping Petaluma, encouraging
Petaluma people to donate to those in need. Our community response to helping our neighbors has been amazing, but we needed the leadership Bruce provided. Bruce has helped to clean up this town by painting over graffiti, cleaning the river, and making his voice heard about problems, such as dead fish in the river. He participates in River clean up events and volunteers in fund raisers for non-profits. And just to make sure that we are reminded about
the beauty in Petaluma, he posts amazing
pictures for us to enjoy. (I’m lucky that I
have one of his photos on my wall.) We even got to enjoy the journey of Esmerelda, who nested and raised her baby birds here in Petaluma. You may think of more things that Bruce has done to enhance our community, but I think that anyone who knows Bruce Cohn would agree that he is definitely a Good Egg!
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