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Comment by kevin_thibedeau | Hacker News Reader

Take them to small claims court for each violation.

That's the "This is the hill I die on" approach. From all the lawyers (family) I've talked to, this is such a massively large money and time sink, regardless of outcome, that you should never do it, even if it means fraud goes unchecked.

Even small claims?

Right, that's what I was told...

I'd love to have a lawyer chime in and say "Go for it, it's easy and it improves accountability" though. Like if it only took a day and $100 it'd probably be worth it to me, regardless of the outcome.

I took a business to small claims over a $1500 invoice they decided they weren't going to pay. It took a year before I was in court, the judge decided in my favor, and I had to schedule a sheriff's sale because the bully I was dealing with refused to acknowledge that they lost.

I did get paid in the end, and there was the satisfaction of sticking it to a bully, but financially, it was not worth the effort.

Ianal, but afaik small claims are for purely money claims. I.e. you have to prove to judge/jury exact amount of your loss. It works well in case of fighting over debt. But more abstract damages are likely outside courts jurisdiction...

On the other hand... It is cheap to try and see what happens, as long as expectations are right.

I don't remember why I looked this up in Washington state, USA a while back (bad work by a plumber, I think) but here in WA I think there's also a rule/law that you can only take individuals to small claims court.

There's also a dollar limit ($4,000? Maybe 15 years ago?).

But yeah, by law you can't drag companies into small claims court. It's meant to settle minor things like your neighbor accidentally backing into (and damaging) your fence, etc.

10k limit in WA, and you definitely can sue businesses/corps in small claims.

Using your infinite time and money for legal representation to run a large number of legal cases in parallel?

Time and money, sure. But small claims in many (most? all?) regions are specifically designed to not require a lawyer. I think in some you specifically can’t bring one.

In most yeah, you need a special dispensation, and you probably just want normal civil court stuff then - its kinda the point of small claims to not need all the extra stuff.

Please cite a single example of that ever solving this problem.

I’m not sure it’s wise to fuck with the legal department of a trillion dollar company even if you’re in the right.

Bezos is thankfully not Elon, he won’t seek vengeance on you for literal nickels and dimes.

No, but making an example of you isn’t a bad business move.

Maybe he just do not advertise how vicious he is on twitter. It does not mean that he is not vicious. Probably is, like every other rich person. You are not getting rich by being kind.

"Don't fight back when we fuck you or we'll ruin you".

The bigger the company, the heavier the penalties for fuckery should be. They should be the ones to live in fear, not the "little people".

While I agree with you, good luck lobbying for that one.

Small claims is such a huge headache, though. It's far more expensive for anyone person than the company.

First time - when you learning all the details - may be. But it wasn't that bad. I represented myself vs insurance company with the lawyer. I did not get full claim amount, and could do better, but I got more than what insurance wanted to settle for.

*for the first violation after which they refuse to do business with you.

Take who to small claims court? Amazon?

Yes. They no-show and you get a default judgement.

Why would they no-show?

They're far more likely to throw a couple hundred bucks at a local lawyer to show up.

In some jurisdictions lawyers are not allowed in small claims court.

In many of those, the defendant can say "but I want one", and have it removed to real court.

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