Hi, I recently bought a used car online. I found out after purchase,
that the has structural damage.It was bought online, the the seller
didn't reveal this material  information at the time of purchase. The
seller is neither willing to take it back nor pay me for the repair
works. I am thinking of filing a case in small claims court.

I am looking for an attorney for initial consultaion/help, (for a
small fee). I called the local bar association/referral service/yellow
pages, but no one is willing to help, as this belongs to a small
claims court. People tell me there are a lot of legal professionals,
who help in this kind of situation,,, but I am not licky so far. I
tried to get some information from the official website
www.jud.state.ct.us but no luck.

Can anyone refer me to a place/person/office, where they provide some
assistance for filing a case in small claims court, in CT (preferably
Fairfield county).

---

Clarification of Question by car_hunt-ga on 11 Sep 2004 03:31 PDT

Hello, I am not looking for online help. I am looking for some help,
where I can meet him/her in person or at least talk at length over
phone.

car_hunt --

If you haven't considered and rejected the idea for some reason, I
suggest that you get in touch with the Fairfield County Lawyer
Referral service, which is operated by the Greater Bridgeport Bar
Association.  Here is its contact information:

Fairfield County Lawyer Referral Service 
PO Box 55135 Bridgeport CT 06610 
Telephone: (203) 335-4116 
Hours: Monday - Friday 9:30 a.m. - 3:45 p.m. 

Give it a try, and good luck.


markj-ga

markj, I tried that referral service already. The lady told me, they
don't have anyone for small claims court. May be I will try again on
Monday and this time I will be lucky?  The only source I have found so
far is smallclaim123.com, but it is online. That is my last resort.
Thanks for your time and effort.

Hi Car_Hunt ...

Why don't you try the Clerk's office for small claims court and ask
for the names of one or two atttorneys who file on behalf of their
clients in small claims court.

While they have to be impartial and may not be able to give you an
actual name, I bet then if you ask for them to recommend a SOURCE for
finding such an attorney, you can get a place to start.

I can almost see the person at lawyer referral reading their
questionnaire and since no one put small claims, therefore, none
exists. We know that's not true.

Hope this helps,

~ Serenata

serenata, Infact, that referral service number,  I got it from local
clerk's office. I came across another site 
http://www.legaladviceline.com which looks interesting.

<<<<I can almost see the person at lawyer referral reading their
questionnaire and since no one put small claims, therefore, none
exists. We know that's not true.>>>
You are right. IMO, that is exactly what happened. 


Thanks everyone for your time and effort. I welcome any further comments / answers.

car_hunt --

Here's a list of lawyers and firms in Connecticut from the online West
Legal Directory that hold themselves out to be "consumer protection"
lawyers.  None of them appears to be in Fairfield County, however.

http://lawyers.findlaw.com/lawyer/lawyer_dir/search/jsp/stdSearch_process.jsp?target=FIRM&state=CT&city=Bridgeport&practice=FL0803

Let me know if this turns out to be helpful.



markj-ga

Dear car_hunt,

As lawyers cannot represent clients in small claims court, asking for
a referral to a "small claims court" lawyer will no doubt be
frustrating. The benefit of small claims court is that it offers a
simplified procedure so that people can represent themselves without
incurring legal fees.

If you use a referral service, try instead to ask for a referral based
upon the nature of the seller's misconduct. Perhaps "consumer fraud".
When you talk to the law firm, make clear that you are looking for a
consultation about the law, not for representation at the small claims
hearing. You should expect to pay the lawyer's hourly fee - but you
can probably get what you need for a small claims matter inside of a
one hour consultation, particularly if you read up on small claims
procedure before your meeting.

The State of Connecticut Judicial Branch website appears to be a good
place to start getting background information on small claims
procedure:
http://www.jud.state.ct.us/faq/smallclaims.html

"Consumer protection" is a good term for searching, provided you can
differentiate those who work with your type of situation from the
class action and mass tort firms which market themselves under the
"consumer protection" label.

markj, I have tried that list, no luck again. 

expertlaw, I had tried with 'Litigation lawyer' initially, but no
luck. Later, as you suggested, I tried with 'Consumer fraud', but the
lawyers prefer a corporation not an individual and also they prefer a
bigger amount involved not just $3-4K

So far, www.legaladviceline.com looks a reasonable compromise, but I
have to try them yet...;

Thanks everyone for you time and effort...

car_hunt --

Although you are probably already aware of this from reading the
booklet about the small claims process that is available from that
court in Connecticut, I should "correct the record" of this thread to
tell you that a lawyer can appear with you in small claims court in
Connecticut.  Here is a link to a PDF copy of that pamphlet, and the
statement that "lawyers are not prohibited" from appearing in this
court is on page six:

http://www.jud2.state.ct.us/webforms/forms/smallclaims.pdf

markj-ga