Colorado legal help needed? any lawyers from CO here?

[brock]

first off are lawyers allowed ?? just kidding. serious question. I got ripped off by an outfitter out of Southern CO. He has my money and has closed his business. he keeps on stringing me along. i have written to the Office of outfitters registration and they tell me there is nothing they can do because he is not a license holder to operate as an outfitter. the state of CO snatched his license. Are they any other avenues to pursue?

I Live in Texas and dont know the law up there.HELP!

 

[huntsonora]

Who was it?

Drum

 

[BUCKSPY]

File suit in small claims court yourself and don't waste your money on an attorney. It will force him to appear or have a judgement against him at the least. Comes to grips with the fact the you probably won't get any of your money back. It has been my unfortunate and painful experience that an attorney will string you along to accumulate legal fees by writing letters and making phone calls for months on end, and you will pay that slimeball as much as you would potentially win back on a judgement. Anyone that tells you otherwise it probably taking a kickback from some bottom-feeding lawyer who makes his money off screwing the man.

 

[BruinBreath]

Not to throw names about but......... Rick Sears ? I think people need to be aware of this guy. He has a record as long as long as Mike Tyson. I have no idea what you could do, follow Mike's advice and good luck.

 

[eelgrass]

Brock, what a drag! Let it be a lesson for everyone though. You really have to do your homework when looking for a guide. A lot of guides who have nice brochures or fancy web sites have.....well, nice brochures and fancy web sites. I had one bad experience in New Mexico many years ago which taught me a lesson.

Like mentioned before, I think small claims court would be the best way to go. Do you have a signed contract? It should be easy to get a judgement against the guy, collecting quite another matter. Good luck

Steve

 

[brock]

Okay guys here is a brief rundown. yes i do have signed contracts but he closed his business. he has jerked me around for a couple of years and i know that he is a crook. the postings on the colorado office of outfitters registration website say so! He skinned a few others up too.then they pulled his license. He says his son will honor the hunts through his outfitting business. I caught the elder in a lie. he said we couldnt come up to hunt ont he dates set because he and his guides would be in alaska moose hunting and he didnt have anybody to guide me and my buddy. my buddy from houston knew this guy and bumped into him in camp up in new mexico and carried on coversation with him. my buddy called me at home and was suprised when he reached me cause we were to rendevous when i got up there. He was hunting in the general area with another outfitter. he told me about seeing this guy. i went off! i was pissed. anyway long story short it has been going on like that for a couple of years.
he has done nothing but lie. I had an archery elk hunt booked for new mexico( he hunted both states) when the aforementioned happened. i then asked for a lesser value hunt like deer or ante-goat just to collect for services. i requested a cancellation and refund in writing. he refused. he wont budge he was supposed to call me back by the first of september to arrange a hunt for me. you guessed it he hasnt called.

his name is Bob Parker formally dba R & J outfitters based in Lamar, CO. His son is Robbie Parker dba Pine Ridge. He has disciplinary against him as well and lost his license to outfit in Colorado. but he can outfit in New Mexico for now. http://www.dora.state.co.us/outfitters/index.htm then type in parker in the search. havent found anything in other states yet not sure where to look.I have pretty much came to the realization that i wont get anything from him. it is the principal of the thing now.

with the small claims court can this be done via confernece call and certified mail? or will i have to go up for the court dates etc. i want to at least spread the word so nobody else gets burned.

 

[brock]

By the way thanks for the posts and suggestions. If anybody has any info on this guys please e-mail me. i talked to a lawyer in texas and he told me since the contracts were entered into on texas turf the harris county tx court was the jurisdiction. the only obstacle is the closure of his business. he hasnt charged me anything yet noticed i said yet. he is supposed to call me back this week. i will make it worth while to anybody who helps me ! the satisfaction of spreading this all the way to egypt or something. i am scared to hunt with this guy even if he comes up with something because we may not have permission to hunt we are or something. feel free to e-mail me if you have any suggestions. [email protected]

 

[txhunter58]

I think you nailed in your last post: Do NOT hunt with this guy! I don't know him, but from the story you tell, you can't trust him to provide a quality hunt, and after he provides a "hunt" you will have no recourse.

You should call the small claims court in the county he resides and just ask them if you have recourse through them. They can usually give you some semi-legal advice as to how to proceed if they have jurisdiction. What would happen then is that you may have to show up for the "trial" but I bet you a dozen doughnuts that the other party won't. You then basically win by default.

However, a judgement doesn't buy you anything. You then have to register a "lein" against any property he has, and you will be paid if he sells it. This is paperwork you have to file after the judgement, probably through the courthouse, and the small claims court doesn't handle that.

Good luck

txhunter58

venor, ergo sum (I hunt, therefore I am)

 

[brock]

I agree with you. this guy's son got busted with illegally taken mule deer in his garage. if you remember the Realtree outdoors program where they are stalking the big muley in the field with a bow that was bedded down. this is the same outfitter. he is hunting in montana now too. i dont know how many states he is outfitting in so be careful i wish we could have some kind of network to connect all this info for prospective hunters to research these jack legs before money ever changes hands. i pretty much have gotten nowhere. i will be up in northern new mexico in january i may just travel up there and pay him a visit. thanks for the posts. hell i even offered to take antelope hunt and call it square.

 

[COSA]

I know I may get blasted for this, but sometimes you just have to take matters into your own hands. Many years ago, I had a landlord keep a $1300 deposit when I left the place the same as I left it. When questioned, they said to come get it in small claims court. As he was trying to sell his house, I sprayed roundup all over everythink living in that yard. Just an idea. You will probablly never get your money back, but revenge can be a sweet thing!

 

[ELKMASTER101]

round-pu will only give him a nother means to get more money,,,,
he collects from his insurance for dameges.
I.d print out a bunch of fliers and like a thousand or so and post them all over his comunity.
wanted information leading to the arrest and coviction of Sears ANY ONE KNOWING OF FRAGULENT DEALING CONCERNING TRANSATIONS DUE DELINQUENT PLEASE CONTACT. ....
THIS MAN IS A THIEF AND A LIER AND NEEDS TO BE BROUGHT TO JUSTICE.
LETS SEE WHAT WE AS HONEST CITISIENS IN OUR COMUNITY CAN DO TO BRING THIS TO CLOSURE.
IF BY CHANCE YOU COULD GET HIS PICTURE SCANED ON THE FLIER IT WOULD HELP.
THERE IS NOTHING HE CAN DO TO YOU FOR THIS. BUT THE DAMAGE IT CAN DO TO HIS WILL MAKE YOU GIGGLE EVERY TIME YOU THINK OF IT.
GOOD HUNTING
JIM

 

[brock]

elkmaster,

i agree with you as bad as i want to do something like that it wouldnt be doing anything but stooping to his level. the only problem with the flier proposal is that i live in texas and travel for work, but i dont go out west mostly on the east coast. i would have to make a special trip up there.if i do thaty i am afraid i would go to his house. then probably get arrested for assault or trespassing and still wont have anything.

i have written to the D.A. 's office in the county and the state attorney general's office with no response at all. can i file theft charges against him in the county and have a warrant isued fore his arrest? maybe him spending the night in jail would get his attention. it would be satisfaction for me. i would like to take it out of his a%$. they work the hunting show circuit i thought about trying to get their schedule and boycotting them at the show or showing up there. he still helps his son out with his business. the whole family is a bunch of crooks.

is there some way to find out if he has been sued before on court dockets or somewhere? what about how to find out any other legal troubles or arrests?

 

[Buckshot22]

Not sure but in some states you could have someone else represent you in small claims and it would not have to be an attorney. Sure still going to cost some money. Keep in mind, it sounds like its a win win on getting the judgement, but it is only a piece of paper saying he owes you this money. If he is this type of person, he knows the system and how to get around any judgement also more than likely.

 

[Colville]

Where is his state of residence? If he lives in CO, sue him there in small claims. The other gent was right that you aren't done there though.. BUT IT'S SIMPLE..

Here in WA, you simply take your judgement and $13 to the county superior court and have the judgement entered there. Be sure that you record the judgement in the county in which he resides. If he owns real property he'll not be able to refinance or sell that property without first clearing your lien. Might be 5 years down the road but you may get paid off that way. Be sure to ask if you need to record it with the auditors office, tell them you want it to record against all real property and they'll guide you through it. The other thing is that he may have a "day job", aside from scamming hunts. If so and if you can identify it you can proceed with garnishment. That's more complicated and likely will require an atty but it can be done. If the guy is the kind of A-hole you suggest, there'll be plenty of folks in his community willing to tell you where he works.

I'd bet that regardless of having a guide license, he never had insurance so I doubt you can pursue him there. I also highly doubt you can do anything in the criminal arena. Unless you can convince a DA that he has NO guide business at all and the whole venture is a front to defraud, you'll be told it's a civil matter. You could put an add in his local paper asking if anyone else has been denied services or suffered breach of contract from his co and go as a group then to the DA.

I think in the end this becomes a matter of principle. You have to decide if it's worth spending good after bad to get to him. You likely can, but you'll not walk away with any money, in fact, you'll spend more pursuing it than you've lost already. But, sometimes that's worth it. Of course you have to get him properly served as well, and you need to talk to the cout clerk to see what in CO qualifies as due service.

 

[brock]

colville,

thanks for the reply. i am not sure which way i will go. i am tired of it thought and at least want to make sure everybody knows not to mess with he or his son. i just wish i could find out if they are working a hunting show somewhere i would pop in on them. i'll keep you posted.