Federal Express showed up at my door today with a thin cardboard envelope. My immediate thought was that it was some bad news or something on that order.
Instead, it was a letter from the producer of the Judge Mathis how. They were asking if I would litigate my Small Claims case on their show.
I have never watched Judge Mathis, but it is something like Judge Judy in which litigants bring their cases to litigate on television instead of in a normal Small Claims Court.
They saw that I filed a Small Claims Court suit against a co-worker who, while acting stupid, knocked over his soft drink onto my laptop computer. He refuses to pay the $90 it cost to repair it, so I had to file.
Admittedly, I was tempted as the show offers all travel expenses to and from Chicago (where the show is taped), pays an appearance fee and, should I win, guaranteed payment of my award within 30 days. Initially, it sounded like it could be fun.
However, I checked with a friend who is a prosecutor for her opinion (among other things, she said, "I would never agree to do that simply because I wonder if they intentionally sensationalize the incidents to make the parties look like jerks and make more of it than there is. So much of that is staged, sensationalized and just edited to make much ado about nothing."). She came up with points that I hadn't considered. I also re-read Stuart Galbraith IV's experience on Judge Judy (to read it, go here). His blog article reinforced what my friend said.
Additionally, I "met" Judge Mathis a year ago and he didn't exactly leave me with a positive impression of him. I wonder if he'd recognize me if I appeared.
I decided that I really don't need to make anything more out of the case than what it is and I can't see myself over-dramatizing on national syndicated television. I don't need the publicity or be dogged by a possible disastrous appearance on the show, especially with re-runs and YouTube around.
Accordingly, I will stick with the normal Small Claims Court route.
Instead, it was a letter from the producer of the Judge Mathis how. They were asking if I would litigate my Small Claims case on their show.
They saw that I filed a Small Claims Court suit against a co-worker who, while acting stupid, knocked over his soft drink onto my laptop computer. He refuses to pay the $90 it cost to repair it, so I had to file.
Admittedly, I was tempted as the show offers all travel expenses to and from Chicago (where the show is taped), pays an appearance fee and, should I win, guaranteed payment of my award within 30 days. Initially, it sounded like it could be fun.
However, I checked with a friend who is a prosecutor for her opinion (among other things, she said, "I would never agree to do that simply because I wonder if they intentionally sensationalize the incidents to make the parties look like jerks and make more of it than there is. So much of that is staged, sensationalized and just edited to make much ado about nothing."). She came up with points that I hadn't considered. I also re-read Stuart Galbraith IV's experience on Judge Judy (to read it, go here). His blog article reinforced what my friend said.
Additionally, I "met" Judge Mathis a year ago and he didn't exactly leave me with a positive impression of him. I wonder if he'd recognize me if I appeared.
I decided that I really don't need to make anything more out of the case than what it is and I can't see myself over-dramatizing on national syndicated television. I don't need the publicity or be dogged by a possible disastrous appearance on the show, especially with re-runs and YouTube around.
Accordingly, I will stick with the normal Small Claims Court route.
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