I call references consistently. Its good to get a sense of what some of the negative and positive perceptions of the person interviewing. I don't necessarily consider a negative point from a reference a deal breaker, a negative for one manager, is not the same for another. I do feel its better to go into the relationship with your eyes open.
Small claims judges in the US are generally supposed to follow precedent, but they don't make precedent. Regardless, in most cases a small claims case can be appealed to a regular circuit court and receive a de novo (completely new) review. (of course, for a corporation, that means hiring an attorney...)
