Raab v. Town of Schereville

In June 2001, the town of Schererville initiated a small claims action against Fred Raab to collect five years of unpaid fees for residential garbage collection. At the evidentiary hearing, Raab contended that he was not required to pay because he did not use the town’s residential garbage service but, instead, hauled his garbage to his business and disposed of it there. The small claims court disagreed and found in favor of Schererville, awarding it $850.73 plus costs. Raab appeals and raises a single issue for our review, namely, whether the small claims court erred when it found that Raab was required to pay the monthly garbage collection fee regardless of whether he actually used that collection service. We will provide additional facts in our discussion as necessary.

We affirm.

Discussion and Decision

As a rule, we will not set aside the judgment of a small claims court unless clearly erroneous, and due regard shall be given to the opportunity of the trial court to judge the credibility of the witnesses. Flint v. Hopkins, 720 N.E.2d 1230, 1232 (Ind. Ct. App. 1999). In determining whether a judgment is clearly erroneous, we do not reweigh the evidence or determine the credibility of witnesses but consider only the evidence that supports the judgment and the reasonable inferences to be drawn from that evidence. Id. A judgment in favor of a party having the burden of proof will be affirmed if the evidence was such that from it a reasonable trier of fact could conclude that the elements of the party’s claim were established by a preponderance of evidence. Id. This deferential standard of review is particularly important in small claims actions, where trials are informal, with the sole objective of dispensing speedy justice between the parties according to the rules of substantive law. Id.; see City of Dunkirk Water & Sewage Dept. v. Hall, 657 N.E.2d 115, 116 (Ind. 1995); see also Ind. Small Claims Rule 8(A).

Raab contends that the small claims court erred when it determined that he must pay Schererville’s residential garbage collection fee regardless of whether the Town actually collects his garbage. Specifically, he argues that under Schererville Municipal Ordinance 1326 (January 24, 1996) and Indiana Code Section 36-9-23-1 et seq., Schererville cannot assess a residential garbage collection fee against those residents who do not actually use that service. See footnote We must disagree.

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Schererville’s imposition of a garbage collection fee against Raab was reasonable. The small claims court, therefore, did not err when it entered judgment in favor of Schererville and ordered Raab to pay for the five years of accrued, unpaid garbage collection fees.

Affirmed.

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C.L.