Lindsay No Longer Sweating Small-Claims Stuff

Fri., Jul. 13, 2007 7:05 PM PDT by Natalie Finn

If you go after someone in small claims court, you better show up to state your case.

That's exactly what a Beverly Hills business owner did not do in his pending lawsuit against Lindsay Lohan, however, prompting the judge to dismiss the case on Friday.

Grandeur Inc. CEO Florian Loeckle filed suit against the actress in May, claiming that an October 2005 car accident she was involved in caused damage to one of his event-planning company's vans, which was hit by the vehicle that Lohan crashed into.

The plaintiff was looking to recoup $3,624.84 in repairs from Lohan, who, according to police who investigated the smashup, was not at fault because the van that she hit had made a U-turn right out in front of her.

Lohan had just finished lunching at the Ivy and was heading north on Robertson Boulevard in her black Mercedes convertible while simultaneously fleeing the usual horde of paparazzi.

Loeckle alleged in his complaint that a letter to Lohan requesting reimbursement for the damage done to his van, which was parked along the side of the street, went unanswered.

TMZ.com reported today that reps for Lohan's insurance company appeared in court in Beverly Hills and waited for Loeckle to show, but to no avail.

Meanwhile, Lohan is also being sued for negligence by the driver of the van she hit, a man who's now alleging that the still-rehabbing starlet was intoxicated when she plowed into him, a charge that Lohan's publicist has adamantly denied.

Raymundo Ortega is also suing the Ivy, claiming that the oft celebrity-packed eatery provided Lohan, who was 19 at the time, with alcohol. He is seeking at least $200,000 in damages.

In his lawsuit, Ortega stated that, because of the ever-present shutterbugs, Lohan has become "hypersensitive to paparazzi and attempts to photograph her in public" and "engaged in a habit, custom, and practice of reckless driving" as a result.

Police concluded the day after the accident, however, that neither paparazzi nor alcohol played a role, with a sheriff's spokesman calling Lohan an "innocent victim."

Regardless, Lohan checked into the Promises treatment center on May 28 after her lifestyle finally got the better of her. Instead of completing your average 30 days, the Georgia Rule star has opted to stay in the facility's extended care unit, to make sure she gets the proper amount of R&R.

Lohan celebrated her 21st birthday July 2 at a small gathering with friends—including mom Dina and sisters Ali and Dakota—and family at a private beach house in Malibu, not far from the Promises campus.

It's entirely possible that the photographers amassed outside the residence outnumbered the designer bag-toting guests inside.