Specktrum, I just don't see this working out well for you. Even if you could show the court that the parking lot is strewn with carts more so than the average parking lot, you would have to also show that it has in the past and still constitutes an inherent danger or hazard to the general public's navigation. IOW, that your experience there is not an isolated case. That means searching for and running down anyone else that may have had a similar problem there. Depositions, more filing, maybe even subpoenas, all on your dime.
And, if your state or locality is anything like mine, the judge has the discretion on whether to even hear the case..depending on whether he/she thinks the case has merit. Just because you file a small claims case, it doesn't mean the court will agree to go forward with it. Civil cases get throw out all the time simply because the judge (or his assistants) don't see the merit of the case you presented upon filing. If that happens, you are out your $300 repair bill + filing costs, and the time you spent getting evidence together.
I was juror on a civil case several years ago, where the plaintiff had tried several different times over the course of 5 years and several different judges before finally finding one that would agree to hear the case. Even in that instance, the judge stopped the proceeding as soon as the plaintiff's legal team was thru presenting their evidence, and the plaintiff's side had taken a week to present. Judge said they simply hadn't presented enough compelling evidence for the defendant to have to present his side of the story and have to defend himself, and the trial was over. (I assumed that was all on the plaintiff's attorneys--probably took the case on a contingency for part of the prospective settlement and the legal beagles had to eat all the cost.)
[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 04-13-2017).]
