On Wed, Dec 04, 2019 at 07:05:47PM +1100, Sid E wrote:

All the affidavits were dismissed, not just some, ALL, including 2 witnesses there at the time, and the person putting the case against me.

I would like to know why they were dismissed - sometimes there's some technicality, such as the other side failing to provide their affidavits within allowed time frames, or some other technicality; but "affidavits are not allowed in the Magistrates Court" is simply not true, that's why I was hoping you might remember, or be able to look up, how you got the other side's affidavits removed - could be useful to me (and others) in the future :)

If I represented myself it would have been much more difficult to win even though ultimately i was innocent.

I spent hours and hours building a case with CCTV footage, sms screenshots and information about phone calls, a detailed log of events for almost a year...

And like you suggested I put it all together in a nicely orderly fashion to make it easy to present to a magistrate, save the lawyers time and save big $, unless you get paid like $400 an hour then just dump a pile of paperwork on them...

Well done, sounds like your work paid off - in more ways than one.

I'm wasnt trying to say you're completely wrong at all with your advice - I

Since IANAL, I can give no "legal advice", only my opinions =)

was just pointing out affidavits can't be used in the magistrates court, which is actually not that significant if you have witnesses on hand - so if OP (i know where you live) decides to go to court he's aware and ready with proper evidence, or particulars as they like to call it.

Also I don't really know where OP lives but I reckon I could backtrace it

If it was "relatively recent", it might be an interesting adventure for them to drag Apple's butt into small claims :) For the $37 filing fee and a few hours of preparation, you can't go too far wrong on this one :) Although personally, I'd at least consult a lawyer about "reasonable" exemplary damages given the circumstances, and a useful precedent or 10 related to such claims, and then file in the appropriate court for the size of the claim. And remember to enjoy the journey,