Hmmmn. I wonder how many friends present can recall all the times we've seen it said here that "lawyers" are the problem?
Most of the times I've wanted to sue someone, the lawyers talked me out of it.
Ol' Gar has an interesting point regarding aircraft records. An annual inspector needs access to the records in order to accomplish his work. A shop is required by law to "enter into the aircraft records" (logs) any work performed. These activities seem to imply that the logs must be presented to the inpsector/shop in order to accomplish the tasks at hand, and the owner is required to submit the logs.
There are many instances where (quite acceptably, I believe) a "sticky" is placed into the logs of aircraft. An example might be in the case of a blown tire at some remote field. The tire is replaced and a "sticky" is submitted to the owner who places it into the aircraft records when he gets it back home. This probably won't work in the case of an aircraft being submitted for more serious work such as an inspection (which requires the aircraft logs for the inspector to determine past AD compliance.) Otherwise..... if the owner does not submit the aircraft records/logs to the inspector....then the inspector's likely actions are to either refuse to inspect, refuse to approve for return to service, or to perform each and every AD note, etc. as if it had never before been accomplished. (expensive)
A possible solution is to have a complete copy of the records for a "working copy" for the shop, and have the shop submit a "sticky" for the owner's inclusion into the permanent records. Unfortunately, any owner who shows up at a new relationship with a shop with "copies" is unlikely to appear worthy of trust by the shop. The relationship between the owner and the shop is basically one of "trust".
Choose your repair shops carefully based upon their reputation and your personal inspection of their facilities. Meet the prinicipals personally, and look them directly in the eye and be certain you both know what is expected of each other. Get referrals from other owners whom you trust, and who have had similar work performed at that shop. If there is any question as to the work scope or as to the methods of accomplishing repairs, make certain the shop agrees beforehand that no entries will be made into the records without conferral with yourself! (An industry-standard method of dealing with such matters is the "Work Order". In a "Work Order", the shop describes the work to be accomplished, and the owner signs the authorization to perform the work. IMPORTANT: Do not accept/sign Work Orders that are too generic. (Example: Troubleshoot gear problem.) Insist upon accurate descriptions of squawks and the extent of the work authorized. (Example: Gear will not extend except by manual extension. Troubleshoot and advise customer. No repairs until further authorized. Estimate: $150.) Later, another entry to the W.O. would be initialed by the owner "Replace Hyd. Pump, service and rig landing gear. Estimate: $325 plus 3 hours labor." That way the shop is protected, and the owner is protected against arriving at the shop and finding his entire landing gear has been replaced and the shop is about to place a mechanic's lien against the aircraft for $20K.
After a relationship is developed between the owner and the shop, less formal W.O.'s might be appropriate, but in new relationships keep in mind that trust is a two way street. Don't treat them like the shop is made up of crooks.... and don't leave the impression that you've always had arguments with every shop with which you've ever done business. Poor communication is inevitably the first error that has occured whenever arguments develop.
PS- In the case where an inappropriate log entry has been made by a shop, do NOT attempt to obliterate or hide the offending entry, as any such attempt will only heighten curiosity and distrust by future owners. Instead, either work it out with the shop to inspire them to write an addendum to their previous entry nullifying it, or make an addendum yourself to the entry that is even-tempered, fair, and worded reasonably so as to explain the offending entry. Do not disparage the shop with the addendum. You don't want a "he said, she said" entry in your logs. You want a fair and accurate statement as to the condition of the aircraft.... not a "better business bureau" comment.
Now, take the aircraft to a reputable shop and get the discrepancy properly repaired and noted.
I began to realize that there was very little "inspection" going on. As I became more familiar with the plane I began noticing things that I really didn't like, it was all simple stuff to. For the third annual which also involved an engine conversion I had a verbal agreement with my old friend/mechanic that we would work on it together (we'd been doing this for the previous two annuals) a date was scheduled and I dropped of the plane. When he said they were ready to start work I arrived to discover someone I didn't know (the new guy) was working on my plane and had already removed my motor. In hind-sight I should have had them stop work right there, put it back together and got a ferry permit to get it home. The job should have taken a month, but I didn't get my plane back for five. When I did get it back it was a nightmare, the first thing I noticed was no safety wire on the wing sumps, then I started digging, no safety wire on the oil filter or a sump plug, cowling not modified per the STC blueprints which eventually destroyed my entire upper cowling. Everywhere I looked the work was shoddy and hap-hazard, baffling not trimmed correctly ate holes in parts of the cowling, the nose-bowl was/is on crooked, and the first weight and balance was so far off it was flat impossible it showed the CG moving forward 16.5 inches, outside the forward limit empty but the plane got forty pounds lighter (?!) just crunching the numbers it would have taken about 400lbs extra on the nose to come up with those numbers. That wasn't nearly all of it, I've spent the last year and a half fixing things and I think I've finally got all the critical stuff.