Go after the money that's owed you -- represent yourself in small claims court and win!
Everybody's Guide to Small Claims Court gives you the step-by-step instructions and plain-English legal information you need to bring or defend a case with maximum success. From preparing evidence and witnesses to making a presentation in court, you'll learn how to:
decide if you have a good case
determine how much to sue for
write your demand letter
mediate a settlement before it goes to court
file and serve papers
prepare and present a winning case
Everybody's Guide to Small Claims Court gives you down-to-earth examples of common cases, including:
auto repair
rental deposit
auto warranty
property damage
small business disputes
C
ompletely updated, the 10th edition includes an expanded discussion of mediation, and how readers can protect their interests should settlement efforts fail. Also includes a comprehensive 50-state appendix reflecting all the latest legal developments that you'll need when you're preparing your case.
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In the Beginning
A. First Things
Small claims procedures are established by state law. This means there are differences in the operating rules of small claims courts from state to state, including the maximum amount for which you can sue; who can sue; and what papers must be filed, where, and when. There are even differences among names used for small claims court (or its equivalent) in the different states, with "justice," "district," "municipal," "city," "county," and "magistrates" court among the names commonly used.
While the details of using small claims courts vary from state to state, the basic approach necessary to prepare and present a case properly is remarkably similar everywhere. But details are important, and you should do three things to make sure you understand how small claims court works in your state:
Look up the summary of your state's rules in the 50-state Appendix to this book.
Obtain your local small claims rules from your small claims court clerk's office.
Check out your state's small claims rules online at Nolo's free Small Claims Center. You'll find this in the Legal Research area of Nolo's home page, at www.nolo.com. Or access your state's small claims information by entering the URL you'll find near the top of your state's listing in the Appendix.
The purpose of small claims court is to hear disputes involving modest amounts of money, without long delays and formal rules of evidence. Disputes are normally presented directly by the people involved. Lawyers are prohibited in some states, including Michigan and California (except to argue their own disputes), but are allowed in most. However, the limited dollar amounts involved usually make it economically unwise to hire a lawyer. The maximum amount of money for which you can sue (in legal jargon, the "jurisdictional amount") is set by state law, too. For example, the limit is $5,000 in the District of Columbia, $5,000 in New York, and $7,500 in Minnesota. These amounts are typical, although there is considerable variation. Some states allow small claims court cases up to $15,000, while others limit cases to no more than $2,000. (See the Appendix.)
In recent years, the maximum amount for which suits can be brought has been on the rise almost everywhere. Don't rely on your memory, or what a friend tells you, or even what you read here. Look up the small claims court on the Web (see the Appendix for a list of state websites), or call the small claims court clerk and find out exactly how much you can sue for. You may be pleasantly surprised.
There are three great advantages to using small claims court:
You get to prepare and present your own case without having to pay a lawyer more than your claim is worth.
Filing, preparing, and presenting a small claims court case is relatively easy in most states. The gobbledygook of complicated legal forms and language found in other courts is kept to a minimum. To start your case, you normally need only fill out a few lines on a simple form -- for example, "Honest Al's Used Chariots owes me $5,000 because the 2000 Neon they sold me in supposedly 'excellent condition' died less than a mile from the car lot." When you get to court, you can talk to the judge in plain English without a whole lot of "res ipsa loquiturs" and "pendente lites." Even better, if you have helpful documents or witnesses, you can show them to the judge without complying with the thousand years' accumulation of rusty, musty procedures, habits, and so-called rules of evidence of which the legal profession is so proud.
Introduction
1. In the Beginning
2. Do You Have a Good Case?
3. Can You Recover If You Win?
4. How Much Can You Sue For?
5. Is the Suit Brought Within the Proper Time Limit (Statute of Limitations)?
6. How to Settle Your Dispute
7. Mediate Your Dispute
8. Who Can Sue?
9. Who Can Be Sued?
10. Where Can You Sue?
11. Plaintiffs' and Defendants' Filing Fees, Court Papers and Court Dates
12. Serving Your Papers
13. The Defendant's Options
14. Getting Ready for Court
15. Eye and Expert Witnesses
16. Presenting Your Case to the Judge
17. Motor Vehicle Repair Cases
18. Motor Vehicle Purchase Cases
19. Bad Debt Cases
20. Vehicle Accident Cases
21. Landlord-Tenant Cases
22. Miscellaneous Cases
23. Disputes Between Small Businesses
24. Judgment and Appeal
25. Collecting Your Money
Appendix: Small Claims Court Rules for the 50 States (and the District of Columbia)
Step-by-step advice on how to prepare your case, how to file it, and perhaps most importantly, how to collect if you win...You can find good counsel in attorney Ralph Warner’s Everybody’s Guide to Small Claims Court.
Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine...
Everybody’s Guide to Small Claims Court walks you through the halls of small justice and explains how to file a claim, figure damages and argue your case effectively.
Small Business Opportunities...
A drum roll, please! We would like to herald the arrival of Nolo’s Everybody’s Guide to Small Claims Court. Author attorney Ralph Warner has packed tons of info into this 7th edition...it’s a bargain.
Ralph Warner is a co-founder and e-publisher of Nolo.com and one of the pioneers of the self-help law movement. A graduate of Princeton University and the Boalt School of Law (U.C. Berkeley), he is the author of many books and articles aimed at making our legal system more accessible and democratic.
