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Small Claims Court vs. Letting it go

Tom Chase

Tom Chase

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So, back in April I had rented out a camera to a decently well known Director in my part of Texas. I gave him an amazing two day rate, plus me. Because I have many mutual friends, I didn't take a deposit and some how ending up becoming the colorist on this project. When I did get paid, about three weeks after the production, I was asked to hold off on cashing the check - so I did for an additional two weeks. I cleared it with the check writer and they finally said go ahead and cash it. The check ended up bouncing, costing me $50.00 in bounced check fee.

Cut to now, I constantly getting excuses on getting this bill paid off. I live in an area where a lot of people "idolize" this guy and the community here is very small and even smaller for those who could actually afford to rent a Dragon. So my question is - do I pursue this in Small Claims Courts or do I just write it off in order to not come off as a greedy person in this tiny community.

Thanks
 
expecting the check to clear is not "greedy". Writing a bad check is against the law.
Take it to the District Attorneys office and they will collect it for you.
 
I don't see any reason to not try and get your money. I wouldn't press criminal charges, personally. Small claims seems like a normal way to deal with a bounced check if the other party isn't trying to resolve things.
 
small claims court is not the appropriate venue. You already received payment...since the check bounced you simply ask to have it made good or turn it over to your District Attorney and they will collect it for you. Its actually very simple. Writing a bad check is against the law.

Small claims court is for cases where you haven't received payment yet.
 
You will still have to send a certified letter stating that the check bounced. Ask for the payment to be made by a certified check or money order and request that the check writer pay unwaived bank fees. If they do not respond and comply within a certain number of days you can proceed to press charges. I'm not sure about small claims, but in criminal proceedings fines can be added on top of the payment owed to you. If they still don't pay you can then get a lien.

edit: Google said that if the check had a value over $1,500 it's a felony in Texas.

Obviously, better to consult a lawyer than an internet forum if you want to get your money back.
 
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what Marc said. you've done the work, you deserve the pay, so no reason to hold back, cause them as much legal grief and paperwork as possible.
I had a similar issue this year where I had to wait months for payment on a pretty crazy job and I was polite about it for far too long, I threatened legal actions as well as notifying the local film office about their business methods and boom, a week later I had my money.
 
Thanks guys, my instinct was to go the DA route but here in TX, that carries Jail time because it's over $500.00 which I don't want to subject anyone too nor do I want to see this guy get a felony.

Do any of you think it would hurt my reputation as a renter/operator - by suing someone. That would be my only concern.

@Anton - I didn't realize the certified letter part. I will have to send one out tomorrow. I've offered him, payments, opportunities to pay via Square, Venom, Paypal, and of course certified check & cash.

Thanks for the feedback,
 
To be fair, if he still dodges you he earned the felony. I also don't think it will hurt your reputation with anyone except the director, but I imagine you don't want to work with him again soon anyway. I would request money order or certified check to avoid excuses or potentially starting the process over again with another bounced check. If they intend to pay they should have no issues getting those.
 
Tom Chase said:
Thanks guys, my instinct was to go the DA route but here in TX, that carries Jail time because it's over $500.00 which I don't want to subject anyone too nor do I want to see this guy get a felony.
Click to expand...

That seems like good motivation for him to pay up.

Do any of you think it would hurt my reputation as a renter/operator - by suing someone. That would be my only concern.
Click to expand...

Nope. Not a bit.

The only thing I have to add to this is that just because a court orders someone to pay, you may still not see any money. I can show you a large file drawer full of judgements showing people owing me money. I know some of them even went to jail or had wages garnished or whatnot only to have them just never pay up in full or skip town and never be heard from again, then they have the IRS and everyone else chasing them too.

I'm in Colorado, most of our laws on this are pretty much the same as Texas. I always take a deposit on rentals... I'm not renting out my gear these days, but if I started again, I would always take a deposit. If someone gives me a check, I take it to the bank when I receive it. Writing a post-dated check or knowingly giving a check that won't clear on receipt is against the law. Handing you a check and then asking you not to cash it is the same thing as post-dating it. On small deals between friends where it's convenient to give the check on thursday and they ask you to not cash it until monday to make sure the money is there is one thing. For an actual payment on a job for real work, that's inexcusable.

You are also legally entitled to bill this guy for your bounced check fees and any other costs you incur while trying to collect from him, including late fees and interest you may owe on other bills you can't pay due to him stiffing you.
 
Hey pm me, I'm curious if I know him, I'm a Dallas Dp. I'd be absolutely pissed. I'd threaten to out him on Facebook and in every industry circle. This won't make you look bad, production people stick together. Especially when dealing with people who steal. That's what it is. I'd absolutely threaten lawsuit if he never coughs it up. i doubt he wants his rep damaged, don't let it slide man, he'll just do it to someone else.
 
If he hasn't paid you - chances are that he hasn't paid others. I wouldn't worry about your reputation in this scenario.
 
I would mention in the certified letter that your next step will be the DA (which will result in a felony conviction) if he does not make immediate payment in full by certified check, money order or cash. I once had to take a producer to small claims court and received a favorable judgement. The a-hole did not abide by the judgement and I had to go down and refile three times and pay the sheriff to serve papers three times. Each time he cried poor before the judge and the judge gave him another suspense date to pay. each time he didn't pay and finally skipped town. I wasted a lot of time and money for filing and serving fees before the guy left the state.

Respect yourself. You deserve it. Keep copies of the bounced check and correspondence to show any and all who may question your integrity. Might even want to keep them in a quick draw holster.
 
Who do you want a good reputation among - producers who cheat people? Project who you want to be known as ten years from now, and start being that person today. Want to be known as a guy who doesn't stand up to abuse and lets himself be walked over? Or a guy who provides excellent service and has wisely invested in equipment to make his clients look great for an appropriate professional rate?

You spent money on the gear you provided him, invested time and energy learning to perform the role he hired you for. Don't let anyone discount that for you.
 
I felt with a very similar director in San Antonio over a year ago. I threatened the same route, even after he tried to create a fake producer to push the blame on, and after the certified letter route he paid. I would've happily tried to put him in a jail cell. You don't treat your crew that way, I don't care who you are. I have met others in Austin who were screwed over by this guy too. I won't work in SA anymore without payment upfront on indie projects. This seems to be all too common.
 
I have to admit I find this story troubling. This director is basically leveraging his fame to shame you into not getting paid.

That is not ok. Neither for you, or for other vendors who may suffer a similar fate.

I'd discard any vestiges of wanting "to be a nice guy", and take the necessary actions. Prefrably through a lawyer, so you can have some distance, but rest assured the only person doing anything wrong is this director.

You have been more than patient enough. You've been a saint in fact!

Do yourself a favor, and get paid!

best
 
Tom,
It absolutely will not hurt your reputation. Honestly if you have a reputation as someone that you can get away with not paying, that hurts more.
I would suggest you give the guy one last opportunity...maybe he doesn't understand its a felony to write a hot check...give him the benefit of the doubt and tell him he has 10 days to make it right with the understanding that if he doesn't you are left with no option but to turn the check over to the DA to handle. If he is smart he will pay you immediately.
 
You did the job, you deserve the money.
Unless there was any other issue that ii contestable, do everything you need to get paid.

In Italy is a constant pain to get paid because of people like that. The system is so screwed up.
I work in the US because of that reason. Don't let people get away with that attitude. It won't benefit you, and in the long run won't benefit any of us.
 
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