Not free --still will cost you around $30 to $50 to file it (Depends on your state) and once you are awarded a judgment you still need to collect (Good Luck)
Our system is so screwed it should make the individual who is found to owe money to pay right away or place liens on his stuff until it is paid for

now days our legal system only exsist to perpetuate itself for lawyers and judges income it does very little to help solve and move on it is an ugly abyss of which is getting worse and worse over time

If the engine has gone back as many times as Spaz says it has; then wouldn't anyone wonder how someone can stay in business with that poor of a sucess rate???---I mean, am I missing something here??? This sounds almost unrealistic....like a nightmare! That is unless it is a guy/shop that only builds bone stock street engines---and even then that still sounds like someone I would NOT take even my street/auto engine to!

Believe me guys, I tried until I was blue in the face to persuade him away from this guy. My buddy had a "friendly" poker run for his company and this guy was the only one that promised to have his engine back in time for the event. That was the big selling point for him.
I actually even offered up one of my spare 260's I have in the barn for the poker run just to get him to go somewhere else!
As for the legal advise, small claims is what I was thinking also. I think it helps that the last two times(three counting this pull) he had a reputable marine service center pull the engine and one of the times an employee of that business was present at the inspection of the motor. That way he would have some testimony to offer from a third party that is un-biased. This court stuff is new to me, so any advise would help. The most experience I've ever had with the courts is watching Judge Judy! A good lot of my friends are Police Officers and Fire-Rescue, so I know more about the law side of matters.
As for revealing the name of the business, I will. I really want to see how he handles this last part of the deal first. Even thought the work on the engine is terrible, he has been trying to rectify the problem, and I wanna see if he will work with my friend on getting out of this, or he's gonna quit on it. That right there will tell me what kind of a man he is. Is he gonna suck it up, or cop out!
As for me, I still believe in the old saying "If you Want something done right, you have to do it yourself." Thats why I build my own. Unless its some huge monster engine, that I know I'm not qualified to build, I prefer doing it myself. Plus, I just really enjoy doing it! It's not just a job to me!

Thanks for the replies everyone, and thanks for taking interest.

These guys are swindlers are are really good at stringing customers along. Hard to get off the train when it's still rolling. The guy I dealt with back then had multiple other legitimate suits against him and and was acting pro se (representing himself in court without an attorney) when his attorney finally dropped him as a client. Funny that his attorney actually wanted to go for a ride on my boat afterward!

One individual was able to clean out his checking account, but the rest of us were screwed in trying to get any settlements from him ... he had no money and owed the local speed shop over $24,000. He screwed me for over $10,000 for an engine that dropped a valve with only 2 hours on it, and kept over $4000 of my parts including a slightly damaged Bowtie block. No warranty past the curb.

He's finally out of business, but I wouldn't take my lawn mower to this guy for an oil change.

Again, cut the losses and walk away. It is likely to be a huge waste of time and additional money and will only produce more aggravation. These cases usually turn into a three-ring circus and will make Judge Judy look like a documentary.

Tell your friend to consider it a learning experience and take the engine to someone who knows what they are doing.

all this over a sbc.....get outta town...must not be a boat motor builder.......m.m...

Yeah, this guy sucks. He is notorious for using the cheapest parts he can find to. Normally, from what I've seen, he usually gets it right the second time!
What went on with this boat motor was the worst I have ever seen from him!
It does just seem unrealistic, on both parts. I can't believe its taken this long and this many times, and every time it seems like it gets worse, now the engine is seized! Were not talking oil leaks anymore. But as for my buddy, he keeps on coming back for more with this guy. By the third pull last fall, I told him to just have someone else fix it. But with the one year warranty, it was getting fixed fr free yet by this dude.
The whole deal is so rediculous now, that all my friend can do now is laugh about it. He said its just a big, hilarious joke to him now. It is pretty damn funny when you think about it, how many times does it take to get the rebuild on a stock 350 Chevy right?
O well, thanks again guys.

your right. collecting is the hard part. if the guy has a regular job, its a piece of cake to have his wages garnished. if he is a business, a lawyer may be needed to apply a lien.

Actually, we ignored a verdict is a SC case against us because it was on the other side of the state and for only $700. Within two weeks we had a Sheriff at our store demanding a check or they were loading up equipment to offset the claim. I was shocked. Had we wanted to drive to Grand Rapids waste a day and close the shop down we would have won the case.

UPDATE: Well, once again the boat is done and ready for pick-up. The builder tried to charge my friend 140 bucks for pulling the engine and re-installing it. He said no way. Then he noticed they forgot to unbolt one of the motor-mounts and pulled it right out of the stringer! So then he said he wanted to hear it run before he took it home and it would not run. Turns out they had 4 plug wires mixed up.
Anywho, here is what happened. The builder never tightened the flywheel-to crank bolts, and then he overtightened the coupler to flywheel bolts and broke two with the impact. So he had to buy a new bell-housing, coupler and put it all back together.
We haven't had a chance to run the boat in the water yet. It better run good this time!

Nick