I filed a small claims suit against a car dealer for a car-repair-gone-bad, but the dealer has demanded the case be heard in the civil court. Of course this means dealing with a lot of legal mumbo-jumbo (no disrespect intended). The money involved here is small, less than $6,000. I've been told that it would cost more than half of that to retain counsel. In any event, here's where I'm at now. I've received the written answer from the defendant. Stated under the heading of affirmative defenses are things like: Plaintiff's claims are barred pursuant to statute of limitations - unable to demonstrate any damages - barred by res judicata/collateral estopped... This, franky, is hogwash. I have solid documentation that the repair was improperly performed. As I understand it, my challenge is in getting this documented evidence admitted. I don't have space enough here to elaborate further. How can we proceed?

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Richville, Michigan

Already Tried:
As I mentioned, I filled a small claims suit, but the defendant has demanded a civil hearing. I have their written answer to my complaint. The court tells me that they'll send me a letter telling me when to appear for a pre-trial hearing (I think that's what they're calling it). I'm not entirely clear on what that entails and how formal or informal that is. Is that a hearing to try to mitigate? My evidence is as follows: Repair order/invoice from the original repair performed by the defendant showing what parts were used (and consequently what parts were not used, which is the main issue, which I'll get to in a moment) - Repair order/invoice from the shop where my vehicle was towed after the breakdown stating what they found - The repair procedure from General Motors outlining the 'proper' repair method. The issue is this: The defendant replaced oil cooler lines on 2/5/08. It was expressed that this repair came with a 12-month/12,000-mile warranty. 10-months and 7,000 miles later, one of the lines 'blew' (became disconnected). This resulted in an immediate and total loss of engine oil which then resulted in a 'spun main bearing.' In other words, the engine is toast. The documentation that I have clearly shows that aspects of the repair were not performed properly and thus were responsible for the breakdown and resulting damage. The dealer, of course, has refused to make any repairs and has in effect told me to 'go pound sand.' I'm pleased to clarify more as necessary.