Four San Diego residents went to San Diego Superior Court Tuesday morning to try to recover thousands of dollars still owed, but things didn’t go as they hoped.
NBC 7 Responds has been following this story for several months after being contacted by one of the businesswomen. They said the process took so long that they felt frustrated and anxious.
On Tuesday, Judge Ernest Gross told them the “certificate of service is flawed.”
Small business owners are finding it difficult to go to small claims court and are struggling to sue for the thousands of dollars they each say they are owed.
As Lori Sutherland stood next to three other small businessmen in the courtroom, she thought she was getting closer to a resolution.
“I’ve already been to court once and been told the documents weren’t correct, and now I’ve been told the documents still aren’t correct,” Mr Sutherland said.
NBC 7 Responds met with Sutherland at Ramona’s home in December. She and several other vendors described how they sold their products on consignment to the same store at different shopping centers in San Diego County.
“It seemed like a very legitimate business at first, but unfortunately as time went on he started doing questionable things,” businesswoman Rachel Rees said.
The four accused Kany Matroub of closing the store, closing the books and disappearing with the money. Several months ago, NBC 7’s Responders attempted to speak with Matrobe on several occasions, including when NBC 7’s Sergio Flores visited a boba shop run by Matrobe, but each time he refused to speak to NBC 7. did.
“I’m telling you, we’re going to get you,” one of the vendors, Stacey Byrne, told NBC 7 on Tuesday.
Even if he wins in small claims court, Matrobe may not receive a penny because he recently filed for bankruptcy and a trustee found he had no assets to liquidate to pay the amount owed. .
“It’s honestly tough because he owes it to so many people,” small business owner Joel Rebman told NBC 7. “He owes it to so many people, not just us. There is,” he said.
That’s why they said they couldn’t leave things as they were. Despite this, we still had good results.
“I have some great new friends and I will always support them no matter what,” Sutherland said.
The women said they are determined to continue. The next court hearing will be held on July 25th.
NBC 7 Responds contacted Matloub on Tuesday, but received a message that a voicemail box was not set up. The team also sent him a text message but received no response.