Small
Claims Court Guide
The
small claims court in your state is an informal
court that allows disputes to be heard quickly
and inexpensively. Typically, these disputes involve
loses of money or property. No attorneys are allowed
in small claims court, unless you are a corporation,
in which case the corporation has to be represented
by an attorney. At small claims court get to have
a judge decide if you are in the right, and how
much money the other person owes in order to compensate
you for your loss.
Small
claims dollar amounts vary from state to
state, and sometimes change. California, for example,
has a $5000 limit in small claims. Other states
have limits as high as $15,000, and as low as
$2,500. To find out the dollar limit in your state,
you should contact the court in your area, or
go to their website online.
Wait! Before You Sue ...
Even
though you have the right to sue, it is always
better to resolve the matter out of court whenever
possible. You'll save time and money. So contact
the other person in the dispute, and try to discuss
the problem and reach an understanding between
yourselves. Try not to be emotional. It's hard,
but that's the best way to reach an agreement.
If an agreement can be reached that is in the
best interests of both parties, you can avoid
the time and cost of going to court. Also, you
can avoid the stress of a courtroom confrontation.
And, you may even avoid having the judge decide
in the other person's favor. There are no guarantees
that you will win in small claims court. So try
to settle before suing.
Okay, What Are The Small Claims
Procedures?
The
procedures in small claims court are simple enough
that you can file and defend your own case. But
you must be over 18 years old. If you are under
18 then a parent or guardian will have to represent
you.
You can
not sue in just any court you want to.
The court must be in a county where the defendant
lives or where the loss occurred.
There
will be a small fee for suing. It's probably
between $20 and $30 per case. If you qualify because
of low income, the court may waive the fee. Check
with your local court to make sure of the cost.
Costs are going up, not down. Oh, and you can
add the cost of the suit onto the money owed you
if you win. But only if you win.
To
start the lawsuit, you'll need to get the
right form from the clerk of the court. Often
that form is available on line. You can probably
"Google it" by putting in your state
name and the phrase "small claims."
On the form you will have to provide a written
statement describing the reason for your suit.
Usually it's enough to say: "Mr. Smith hit
my car and won't pay me the $3000 it cost to fix
it," or "Mr. Smith owes me $2000 because
I loaned it to him."
Supporting
Documents: In some states you'll have to provide
all the supporting documents to back up your claim.
That would include receipts, estimates, pictures,
and so on. In other states it's enough to have
those supporting documents when you arrive in
court. The judge will ask to see them. You will
also have to have the address of the person you
are suing-the Defendant.
Filing:
Take the forms to the court and file them, or
mail them in with a check for the correct amount.
If you mail it in, be sure to include a self-addressed
envelope so that the clerk can return them to
you with the date and time of the court hearing.
Serving
the Defendant: It will be necessary to notify
the person you are suing of the court date and
time. Often this can be done by certified mail.
However, there is no guarantee that the defendant
will accept the mail and sign for it. If he doesn't,
then you may have to start all over again by getting
a new court date and paying another court fee.
However, in many states if you don't get the person
served on time (usually at least 10 days before
the hearing), the court may extend the time and
change your court date.
More
on Serving the Defendant: There are two ways
to serve the defendant-either personally (someone
hands the court documents to him), or by sub-service
(someone serves a competent adult at his home
or place of business). Personal service is always
the best because the person can not then claim
they didn't know anything about it. But sub-service
is also good. Just make sure the person still
lives or works at the address where the papers
are served.
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