During small Yucca tree removal this co broke a hole in galvanized T-pipe flush at the cement footing of the bldg. There was no access to put a cap. The best & only real plumbing option was making holes in in the building & having the pipe go vertically along the outside= $3k. The tree co is of course ignoring my texts about the bill & wanting to resolve this amicably. I even said that if it was handled maturely I wouldn't write any bad online reviews (the guy has great Yelp reviews). I'm ready to write the check to the plumbing co. Any ideas for securing some reimbursement w/out doing Small Claims?

I myself never found Small Claims Court to be an undesirable approach. In CA, its really quite easy, cheap and straightforward.

I don't know where you are in CA, but in Los Angeles County, the courts operate very reasonably, Robert J's experience notwithstanding.

My advice would be to demand a Judge, not to settle for some kind of temporary judge like a Judge Pro Tem or even a Commissioner. In some Courthouses, Small Claims cases are generally handled by Commissioners who have held the job for a very long time (years & years & years) and are very experienced, but not all Courthouses have that attribute.

I would also advise that what you need to concentrate on is whether the law REALLY entitles you to reimbursement from the tree co, as well as proof of what happened.

From past SC Court experience[s] I would get [at the very least] a written report from a licensed professional plumber or estimator as to the cause & costs to fix the issue.

do your best to get this pro to be able to represent you in Court as a witness.

all these costs [at least here in NJ] were recoverable as costs of the suit.

Start with a demand letter to the Contractor sent via Certified Mail with a Return Receipt. Stop phone calls. Put all from now on in writing.

Right on, Jim in O C.

Jim(OC)'s advice is good, in principle.

Do you have a contract with the tree co?