One thing to remember about Civil Cases. The Plaintiff only needs to present a Proponderance of Evidence. It need not be "beyond a shadow of the doubt" and, the Defendant in such a case is never "presumed Innocent". It is almost as if the Defendant must PROVE himself the victim or he will get nailed everytime for something. Bringing a Civil matter to court provides for funds for The County in which the claim was filed. If the burden were greater to the Plaintiff, folks would be less likely to file. The County gets less claims hence less money. The Legal Council for the indigent criminal therefore gets paid less and therefore is generally not qualified for private practice. (This in particular with PD's that handle the general type B Felony cases. ) Plea them out and keep em moveing. LOL!
If ya pay him in pennies, you have to work harder to do so. I would not give him the satisfaction of knowing how bad he got ya. Write him a check, it will be on hold for a few days and then it is over.
Move on pass the little guy. Too many great roads to worry about life's little construction zones.
Call the guy and tell him your cousin from NJ is visiting for the holidays. Tell that your cousin's hobby is stabbing scumbags in the eyes with an ice pick. Finish off with, "Have a nice day, scumbag!"