Small Claims Court

It was just after 9 a.m., but already Courtroom 51 in Camden's Hall of Justice was packed to standing room only. But the crowd was not there for any sensational trial. A small baby who became restless in its father's arms attracted curious glances from court attendants, the jurist and others in the crowd. The man did his best to quiet his charge. And even though a handful of lawyers were awaiting the call of a regular trial list, most of the nearly 100 people in the fifth-floor courtroom were not concerned when the list was read.

Tom and Kathy McCusker were very upset. The Glenolden couple spent $699 in April for a new sofa bed for their basement rec room. After it was delivered, the McCuskers found a problem. "When you sit on that couch you sink into the floor," Tom McCusker said. The McCuskers contacted the furniture company, Darro Discount Furniture in Folsom, but owner David Darro said he could find nothing wrong with the sofa. That made the McCuskers even more upset. They tried to vent their anger through repeated phone calls to Darro.

What is happening in City Hall Annex, where this institution known as Small Claims Court convenes each day? One hears the orthodox explanation for Small Claims Court: it's quick (40 days from filing, compared with at least six months for an arbitration, and years for Common Pleas Court); it's efficient (about 25 to 50 cases scheduled on one day for one judge, compared to a few arbitrations a day for three arbitrators, and one case over several days or weeks for one Common Pleas judge)

Here's what you need to haul a shoddy electrician, your disgruntled roommate, or someone who sideswiped your car into "The People's Court" in Philadelphia: Gather all relevant documents, and prepare yourself for battle. That's the advice from Judge Alan K. Silberstein, president judge of Philadelphia Municipal Court, which includes small claims court. Anyone can take anyone else to small claims court over any dispute that does not involve more than $5,000, he said. If you're the plaintiff, the first thing you do is file a complaint, which can be done on the 12th floor of the City Hall Annex.

There's an old saying that a person who represents himself in court has a fool for a client. But last week, a state Superior Court judge suggested ways to make it easier for ordinary people to represent themselves in small claims court. Judge Zoran Popovich recommended that some lower-court procedural rules be eased so that "lay citizens . . . who are not learned in the law" don't lose on legal technicalities. "We should liberally construe the rules and disregard any error or defect or procedure which does not affect the substantial rights of the parties," Popovich suggested in a dissenting opinion in a Pittsburgh case.

What does it take to tip the scales of justice in your favor in small- claims court? Those interested may find out tomorrow at the PJA School in Upper Darby, where a discussion of small-claims court will be one of three programs open to the public. The school is looking at the law by holding an evening of education and entertainment from 7 to 9 p.m. at its building at 7900 West Chester Pike. The institution trains paraprofessionals in law, accounting and computing. In Lecture Hall 5, attorney David Hudiak, who supervises the paralegal curriculum, will discuss how to handle a small-claims lawsuit.

It's been months since Aleksandra Eigen had a good night's sleep. First there were the prostitutes. All night long they fought with men next door to Eigen's West Marshall Street home. When the prostitutes moved on, Eigen hoped for some quiet. Instead, an abusive couple moved in. They holler at all hours, Eigen said. So she invested in an air conditioner. It muffles the noise from next door and the screams from youths on the street below, selling drugs or drinking.

The owner of King Kennels, a Baltimore Pike business that sells 230 dogs a year, has been ordered to pay $1,046 to a Middletown woman for veterinary bills incurred over a sick puppy bought in June at the kennel. The ruling, by District Justice Richard M. Cappelli, came Friday in Concord District Court against Kathryn Arroyo. It stemmed from a suit filed in Small Claims Court in Concordville by Cathy Wood, who bought a dog of border collie mix on June 14. It was the 10th civil suit against the kennel since 1988 in which the courts have ruled in favor of customers whose dogs got severely ill or died after being bought at the Concordville kennel.

Judge Gloria Morgan stepped out of her chambers and entered the small, wood-paneled room in the rear of the district justice office on Davisville Road in Willow Grove. She took her position on the bench to preside over a courtroom that was empty but for the two men seated at desks in front of her. One was a building inspector, the other a real estate agent. The building inspector had sued the real estate agent, saying that the agent never paid him $250 due for a house inspection he conducted on the agent's behalf.

On Christmas Eve, Sue McDermott of Upper Darby went to King Kennels on Baltimore Pike and bought a dog as a gift for her daughter. The pet, a chow, died two days later, she said. McDermott said that when she approached kennel owner Kathryn Arroyo about the problem, Arroyo gave her an 8-week-old dog of German shepherd and husky mix on Jan. 22 as a replacement. On Feb. 5, McDermott said, that dog died of distemper. Tara Shapiro and Lisa Sofio, seniors at the University of Delaware in Newark, tell a similar story.

It's been months since Aleksandra Eigen had a good night's sleep. First there were the prostitutes. All night long they fought with men next door to Eigen's West Marshall Street home. When the prostitutes moved on, Eigen hoped for some quiet. Instead, an abusive couple moved in. They holler at all hours, Eigen said. So she invested in an air conditioner. It muffles the noise from next door and the screams from youths on the street below, selling drugs or drinking.

What does it take to tip the scales of justice in your favor in small- claims court? Those interested may find out tomorrow at the PJA School in Upper Darby, where a discussion of small-claims court will be one of three programs open to the public. The school is looking at the law by holding an evening of education and entertainment from 7 to 9 p.m. at its building at 7900 West Chester Pike. The institution trains paraprofessionals in law, accounting and computing. In Lecture Hall 5, attorney David Hudiak, who supervises the paralegal curriculum, will discuss how to handle a small-claims lawsuit.

The owner of King Kennels, a Baltimore Pike business that sells 230 dogs a year, has been ordered to pay $1,046 to a Middletown woman for veterinary bills incurred over a sick puppy bought in June at the kennel. The ruling, by District Justice Richard M. Cappelli, came Friday in Concord District Court against Kathryn Arroyo. It stemmed from a suit filed in Small Claims Court in Concordville by Cathy Wood, who bought a dog of border collie mix on June 14. It was the 10th civil suit against the kennel since 1988 in which the courts have ruled in favor of customers whose dogs got severely ill or died after being bought at the Concordville kennel.

On Christmas Eve, Sue McDermott of Upper Darby went to King Kennels on Baltimore Pike and bought a dog as a gift for her daughter. The pet, a chow, died two days later, she said. McDermott said that when she approached kennel owner Kathryn Arroyo about the problem, Arroyo gave her an 8-week-old dog of German shepherd and husky mix on Jan. 22 as a replacement. On Feb. 5, McDermott said, that dog died of distemper. Tara Shapiro and Lisa Sofio, seniors at the University of Delaware in Newark, tell a similar story.

There's an old saying that a person who represents himself in court has a fool for a client. But last week, a state Superior Court judge suggested ways to make it easier for ordinary people to represent themselves in small claims court. Judge Zoran Popovich recommended that some lower-court procedural rules be eased so that "lay citizens . . . who are not learned in the law" don't lose on legal technicalities. "We should liberally construe the rules and disregard any error or defect or procedure which does not affect the substantial rights of the parties," Popovich suggested in a dissenting opinion in a Pittsburgh case.

It began with a complaint about the cleaning of a cherished quilt. It escalated to small claims court. That led to an ordered sheriff's sale that was stopped at the last minute. Then it moved on to Common Pleas Court. And last month, it expanded to include picketing that led to an ugly scene. And after all that, Marybeth Phillips says, she still hasn't got her quilt, which she said was damaged by Arcadia Cleaners. She hasn't seen the quilt for a year. She said yesterday that nobody at Arcadia would tell her where it is. Richard Chakejian, owner of Arcadia, said yesterday that she'll be able to see the quilt today.

ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT CUSTOMER HAS SWEET DAY IN COURT This one's for all you big guys who ever bellied up to an all-you-can-eat bar and wondered just how far you could go. A judge in small claims court in San Mateo, Calif., has sided with a man who paid $15.95 to eat all the oysters he could, then was told to quit after four servings. The court awarded Alan Wald $125. He sued the Moonraker oyster bar in Pacifica for "pain and humiliation" after the restaurant manager told him to quit slurping.

No reading, no conversation, no chewing gum, no nonsense. It's 9:27 in the morning, and a court clerk repulsive as Quasimodo taps a pencil stub against his left thumb and tells me what I can't do. What I can do, he says, is sit still for as long as it takes and wait for my case to be called in small-claims court. "Out of respect for the judge," he says, with the authority of a pit bull. I'll give you a small claim. I claim the right to read. If I have to sit in the courtroom for hours waiting for my case to come up . . . If I can't wait in the hall where I won't hear if my case does come up . . . If I can't do the double-crostic (not fair, because I can't do the double-crostic)

It was just after 9 a.m., but already Courtroom 51 in Camden's Hall of Justice was packed to standing room only. But the crowd was not there for any sensational trial. A small baby who became restless in its father's arms attracted curious glances from court attendants, the jurist and others in the crowd. The man did his best to quiet his charge. And even though a handful of lawyers were awaiting the call of a regular trial list, most of the nearly 100 people in the fifth-floor courtroom were not concerned when the list was read.

QUOTE "I knew that I was the right one to tell America that John Lennon had been assassinated. I had a very special relationship with him. " - Howard Cosell, who was "Monday Night Football" commentator when the ex- Beatle was slain ACTRESS DOESN'T DIG ARSENIO Communism is kaput. The fillings in our mouth are safe. And a real live star is actually criticizing Arsenio Hall. This country is definitely on a roll. The Arsenio-basher is Ann-Marie Johnson, the cop's wife on "In the Heat of the Night" who somehow got stuck making the dud "True Identity.