Yeah, a stray golf ball did this. Cost to repair = $1,831. Ouch! The ball was hit by a golfer using a nearby municipal golf course. So, how was I going to recoup the cost of the damage caused by this wayward ball? Turns out Small Claims Court is the ticket. Below, I will describe the step by step process to get reimbursed for damage caused by a golf ball from a nearby course. Will it take some effort? Yes. In California, expect it to be about a year if you are suing a government-owned golf course. Quicker, if a private course.
ASSESSING DAMAGE
The first step is to determine the cost you’ve incurred. In the case of auto damage, you’ll want to take your car to an autobody repair shop and request a written repair estimate. You’ll want to ask how long they will need to have the car to complete the repairs. In our case, they required a week, which created yet another cost: automobile rental.
LIABILITY
After figuring out your damages, you now have to establish liability. Companies and government agencies will be liable for damage caused by their activities if you can establish that the defendant knew or should have known that they had created the potential for that damage. In the case of the municipal golf course, the City had placed a protective fence around most of the golf course. But it declined to place a protective fence in one part of the course that bordered a residential street due to opposition by the residents on that street. They didn’t want their view blocked by the fence. By acceding to the homeowners, the City created the potential for stray golf balls to land on the street. People who drove their cars or parked on that street often reported damage caused by the golf balls. I found someone who lived along the street who had also been victimized by an errant golf ball. He wrote a declaration that I attached to the legal complaint that reported that the City knew that golf balls had caused damage in the past. This fact proved essential to proving liability as it showed that the City had “constructive and/or actual knowledge” of the danger created by the unfenced area.
FILING A CLAIM
Once you have documented the financial damages you have incurred, you need to file a claim (in the case of a municipality) or send a demand letter to the private golf club. In many, if not most municipalities, you can file an electronic claim online where you can upload your documentation for damages as well as pictures of the damage. In our case, we filed a claim at the San Diego City website. The City has up to six months to decide whether to accept or reject the claim. In our case, the City rejected it without any explanation.
FILING A COMPLAINT IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT
Because the financial damage was less than $5000, it made sense to seek compensation in Small Claims Court. No attorneys are needed — Small Claims requires plaintiffs to represent themselves. The complaint forms and instructions are located online and can be completed electronically. Click on the link below to open the complaint that we filed.
Once you file this complaint with the Small Claims Court, you need to serve this complaint. It is surprisingly difficult to find out who the agent for service of process is for a government entity. For private businesses, it is quite easy as most states have a website that identifies the people who will access service of a complaint. In California, it is located at this site. It will specify the “agent” who is the person who will receive legal complaints.
For cities, you will likely want to serve the City Clerk’s office. The Small Claims Court will provide service for a nominal fee, but to be safe, you may want to use a private process serving company. We used San Diego EServe, who charged $55 for the service. They were fast and easy to use and we recommend this company.
After completing the service, you will want to upload the proof of service document provided by the service company as well as any evidence (pictures, declarations, estimates) onto the Court’s web site. In this case, the upload link is found here.
SMALL CLAIMS HEARING
In most California courts, parties can attend the hearing remotely through video or telephone. This is very convenient — you save time and money. On the day of the hearing, you’ll want to use this link to remotely attend the hearing. Log on 15 minutes prior to the hearing and wait for the Court Clerk to begin the conference. He or she will explain the process.
At our hearing, the judge asked some limited questions but because we described everything in the complain and had all of our exhibits uploaded, we didn’t need to say much. The City of San Diego represented to the court that the City was not liable for the actions of the golfers who use the municipal court. The judge rejected the City’s argument on the basis that the City knew or should have known that when it did not build a protective fence, it would lead to damage such as what occurred in my case. The City did not argue with the Judge — our declarations made the case for the judge.
Once determining liability, the judge ordered the City to reimburse us for our documented damages and the case was over. It took all of 15 minutes to complete.