How good of case do I have for small claims court?

[bobgbk]

My jurisdiction is: usa

At approximately 2:30 a.m. a newspaper carrier forcefully shoved Sunday edition through mail slot on wall. While pushing the large paper through slot, carrier encountered a grandfather clock next to slot. This very heavy clock was sent crashing to the floor, face down with severe damage. The manager admits carriers sometimes use extra force to shove a rolled newspaper through the slot but denies any carelessness and negligence or violent action by the carrier. He claims there is no liability since the carrier was not aware of a clock or its position near the slot and he contrarily argues that the clock was in front of the opening.

I believe that a cautious and prudent person would have realized that he was encountering a heavy object on the other side of the slot opening and to avoid damages, he would stop and leave the paper in the slot for the resident to retrieve. By his actions, I believe the carrier did not act reasonably under the circumstances and is thereby liable by his carelessness and negligence.

With pictures of damage and police report, will I have a good case or does newspaper have a better argument?

 

[tpajet]

You can try, but I don't think you are going to get anywhere.

A Sunday paper would be pretty thick, and it's reasonable that it would be hard to push through as it is, and probably hard to tell the difference between the resistance of the push VS hitting something. Also, even if they were able to tell something was there, how would they know it was a clock VS something like a desk.

The other things are, did you know that the paper is shoved through that slot, and if so (and even if not for that matter) why would you park a grandfather clock that close to the slot? Or any other large object?

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

Rather a stretch to believe that a newspaper (even a Sunday one) shoved through a mail slot could knock a heavy grandfather clock to the ground. I can barely move mine around (on a wood floor no less) when I want to dust behind it.

Gail