lawsuit, cont'd, again
Prior posts on this topic:
As part of the costs and disbursements, Oregon law provides that you can recover a prevailing party fee. This fee is set by statute according to what kind of case it was. In addition to this amount, the court has discretion to award an "enhanced" prevailing party fee of up to $5,000, upon considering a bunch of factors (such as how the parties conducted themselves, whether they pursued settlement, etc.).
Yesterday I filed a motion that addresses each of these factor in turn, and argues that an enhanced prevailing party is justified in this case. I pointed out what I felt were examples of poor/improper conduct on the plaintiff's side, and also explained that although I did have the advice of an attorney, I did a lot of work myself, including drafting all of the court filings.
We'll see how this goes. A hearing on this motion is set a couple weeks from now, and in the interim I expect that the plaintiff is going to file a responsive pleading addressing my arguments and alleging a bunch of misconduct on my part.
- June 22: I was sued by my former landscaping service because I withheld payment for shoddy work and instead tried to negotiate a commensurate fee. This plan was not successful.
- Aug. 25: I filed a motion to dismiss on the theory that the case should have been filed in small claims, and that the complaint included an inaccurate amount.
- Sept. 14: My motion to dismiss was granted, and the case was dismissed.
As part of the costs and disbursements, Oregon law provides that you can recover a prevailing party fee. This fee is set by statute according to what kind of case it was. In addition to this amount, the court has discretion to award an "enhanced" prevailing party fee of up to $5,000, upon considering a bunch of factors (such as how the parties conducted themselves, whether they pursued settlement, etc.).
Yesterday I filed a motion that addresses each of these factor in turn, and argues that an enhanced prevailing party is justified in this case. I pointed out what I felt were examples of poor/improper conduct on the plaintiff's side, and also explained that although I did have the advice of an attorney, I did a lot of work myself, including drafting all of the court filings.
We'll see how this goes. A hearing on this motion is set a couple weeks from now, and in the interim I expect that the plaintiff is going to file a responsive pleading addressing my arguments and alleging a bunch of misconduct on my part.