Just Say No to Big Brother’s Smart Meters by Orlean Koehle


Do not file a Small Claims Court case unless you sincerely believe that you have a legal right to do so. But understand that, whether or not you actually win a Small Claims Court action, if thousands of citizens file such cases they may achieve a political victory over Smart Meters in California, because the utility companies (and even the court administrators) will almost certainly have to turn to Sacramento for assistance in order to deal with litigation of such magnitude. That will put the state legislators and state regulatory agencies, like the California Public Utilities Commission, squarely in the political bulls-eye, which is exactly where they should be, because the utility companies are trying to justify Smart Meters based on laws the legislators have passed and rules the regulators have enacted. So, if your utility company has installed a Smart Meter on your property or on your residence (whether or not you own the property), and you have a good faith belief that you are entitled to file a Small Claims Court action on that account, here is what you can do:


File A Small Claims Court Case You can file a Small Claims Court action all by yourself, without anyone’s help, or you can get help filling out the papers and serving them on the utility company. Lawyers are prohibited from representing parties to a Small Claims Court action, but legal services and even some lawyers can help you get the paper work in shape if you feel you need that kind of assistance.


A. File a Small Claims Action by Yourself In California, you don’t need a lawyer to file a Small Claims court case, and a lawyer cannot represent a party to a Small Claims court lawsuit. If you win the case, the other side can hire a lawyer to appeal to the regular Superior Court and then you can either represent yourself there or hire a lawyer to represent you. Every one of California’s 58 counties has a Court Clerk’s office where you can file a Small


Claims court action. Here is where you can get the address and phone number of the Clerk’s office in your county: http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/courts/find.htm To file a claim for $7,500.00 in damages usually requires that you pay a filing fee of $75.00 to the clerk of the court. If you are going to file your own Small Claims Court action, here is what you need to know: Small Claims basic information: http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp/smallclaims/ Download the forms you need: http://www.cc-courts.org/_data/n_0003/resources/live/SmallClaimsSC-01FullPacket2010.pdf


B. Get Help Filing Your Small Claims Action For a nominal fee, you can get help filing your Small Claims court case. There are online services, and services you can contact by telephone. Just Google “California small claims court services” and you’ll find help. Here are just a few of the many places that provide assistance: Instant Process Service: http://www.instantprocessservice.com/small_claims.html My Small Claim: http://www.mysmallclaim.com/?gclid=CJGPjN-t-6UCFRtVgwodmmhtcQ Small Claims Service: http://www.smallclaimservice.com/?gclid=CJXRxNWt-6UCFQoLbAodKlizqA Turbo Court: http://turbocourt.com/go.jsp?act=actShowAppInfo&appcode=elf- sc&tmstp=1264288.0&fld=fldHomeAppName&srcde=dteAppsList&source=scrHome&form=frm AppsList&ind=1&screenCode=HOME


C. Ideas for a Small Claims Court Case The information below is not intended as legal advice, and may not be used for that purpose. It is solely for the purpose of stimulating discussion and sharing ideas about the possible kinds of


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