M. Peter Katsufrakis, the charismatic and innovative Los Angeles small claims court judge whose "people's court" gained national attention in the 1960s and '70s, has died. He was 83.
Katsufrakis, a Tarzana resident who turned down an offer to be the original judge on television's "The People's Court," died Monday of heart failure at UCLA Medical Center.
A former entertainment lawyer with the O'Melveny and Myers law firm, Katsufrakis was appointed a municipal court judge by Gov. Edmund G. "Pat" Brown in 1965. He was subsequently elected for two more terms and left the bench on a disability retirement in 1977, after phlebitis in his right leg prevented him from sitting for long periods.
During his 12 years presiding over small claims actions in Division 4 of the Los Angeles Municipal Court, Katsufrakis quickly built a reputation as an advocate for the little guy.
In a 1970 interview with The Times, he recalled that when he took over small claims, every Friday was called "store day."
"All these big companies could come in with up to 50 claims apiece -- most of them defaults where the defendants didn't show up -- and they'd just get an automatic judgment from the clerk. The judge wouldn't even hear the cases."
On his first day on the job, Katsufrakis saw the corporate representatives lined up in the hallway waiting for the clerk and ordered every one to present his case to the bench.
He eliminated "store day" the following week, issuing orders limiting each plaintiff to two cases per session, and he ordered that all cases be tried in the jurisdictions where the defendant lived or entered into the business dealing.
"These companies were taking their cases from all over -- from Oregon to the Mexican border -- and trying them in Los Angeles because that's where their home office was," he said. "The poor guy who lived, say, in Fresno couldn't get here to defend himself, so the company won automatically. I cut that out in a hurry."
Katsufrakis also urged the small claims court office staff to help plaintiffs file their claims and provided interpreters for those who spoke Spanish.
His transformation of the Los Angeles small claims court garnered national attention. He appeared on the Tom Snyder, Regis Philbin and Dinah Shore TV talk shows, and newspapers, magazine and other media visited his courtroom.
