lost luggage - small claims court
My luggage got lost in March and the airline I flew took responsibility. After a lengthy process of filling out forms, they have finally reimbursed me. However, the dollar amount they reimbursed me is about 50% below the value of the goods I claimed. Plus, I had asked for some kind of reimbursement for the time and frustration it took me to replace all the items, my lost vacation time, etc. Of course, none of this was reimbursed. I am contemplating taking the airline to small claims court but have never been through a small claims court procedure. Is the small claims court process a time-consuming task? As I have heard, it is pretty straight forward. Second, if I lose, what kind of court fees am I responsible for? Has anyone had any success challenging a airline in this type of situation? Any other important information to consider? Thanks in advance. Your answers are always appreciated.
DISCLAIMER: I am a painter, NOT a lawyer! :-) First question pops in mind: did you sign a release when you accepted the check they gave you? Usually on the back of the settlement check there's a release, that if you cash the check you release them from further liability. I would be surprised if they just gave you the money without a release. If you did sign it, you gave up all your right for further damages, if any. Filing a small claim is fairly easy, you can get all the info you'll ever need here: http://www.sanmateocourt.org/generalinfo/sitemap.html#small_claims One piece of advice: when you go to court, go prepared! You will have to pay the court fees and the process server if you use one. You can ask the court for reimbursement of these expenses if you get a judgment in your favor.
i worked for an airline for 30 years. the airline will not re-imburse for your time nor will they re-imburse for full value unless you can prove everything is brand new also they will not pay you for electronic equipment, money jewelry or high value items. also remember if you cashed the check you probably agreed to their terms and will not receive any more funds
Read the Contract of Carriage for the airline involved. You should be able to find it somewhere on their web-site (with some searching). Whether you know it or not, this is the legal contract you agreed to when you purchased your ticket. Among other things, it should spell out exactly what the liability is for lost luggage re-imbursement.
http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp/smallclaims/sclinks.htm That's a link to all the info you need re: small claims court.
Hi, Years ago I flew with a friend and his luggage was lost. He took whatever the airline gave him. I believe $1200 and since his loss was about $3000, because he had a Powerbook among other things in the luggage, his home insurance covered the rest. I think he received the full amount between airline coverage and his home owner's policy. (just look at your policy, call your insurance agent) I think that your chances in small claims court are pretty slim. Airlines have a limited liability on the luggage and it is printed on the other side of the ticket, once you buy their ticket you are entering into a contract with them agreeing to those terms. (again I am not a lawyer, just time to time I read the fine print)
East Palo Alto
Hillsborough
Mountain View
Foster City
San Bruno
San Mateo
San Carlos
Millbrae
Redwood Shores
Half Moon Bay
Menlo Park
Burlingame
Redwood City
South San Francisco
Palo Alto
Please install Flash.
Smalltown is building the Local Web where neighbors and businesses post, search and share everything about their town.
We provide an innovative and compelling user experience that requires the Flash Player Plugin version 8 or above. Please visit Adobe to get it. It's quick and easy to download and install.
We strongly recommend installing the Flash Player to fully benefit from the complete set of functionality our site offers.
System Requirements
Smalltown works best on a PC running Windows 2000 and XP, and on a Mac running OSX. We support Firefox, Internet Explorer 6.0+ (PC only), and Safari (Mac only).
Be sure JavaScript is turned on. To do so, select Options (Firefox) or Internet Options (Internet Explorer) under the Tools menu of your browser. In Firefox, click the Content tab, select "enable JavaScript," and click OK. In Internet Explorer, click the Security tab, select "Enable" under "Active Scripting," and click OK.
Please contact us if you have any questions or recommendations.