It’s unfortunate, but sometimes people fail to honor their commitments, and you must take them to court. Does someone owe you money? Is it a landlord, tenant, neighbor, business colleague, auto mechanic or other service provider, or even a friend or relative? Have you tried to resolve the issue to no avail? It may be time to go to small claims court.
Chances are you’ve seen The People’s Court and Judge Judy, shows where people argue their small claims cases. But this is entertainment, not reality.
Forget what you’ve seen on courtroom TV, says Francine Levitov, a New York City–based criminal attorney and legal expert for JustAnswer.com. “It’s not about drama. Success does not go to the party who interrupts the judge or who insults the other side more loudly.”
Small claims court is a rather informal, streamlined way for people to resolve disputes that don’t involve vast amounts of money. The parties involved need a judge to hear the case because they haven’t been able to resolve the matter themselves.
Common issues include the return of a security deposit from a landlord; repayment of a loan; a gym-contract dispute; faulty work or overcharges for various services, including car repairs and home remodeling; an unlawful eviction notice; a pet-related issue; or sales transactions where the property was either not received or paid for.
Lawyers are rarely involved, so preparation is essential. What will bring legal victory, Levitov says, is the evidence that you’ve gathered and your ability to get that evidence before the judge. The following general guidelines will help you get started.
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First, don’t rush into anything. Contact the opposing party to see if there is a resolution available short of a court proceeding, suggests Bill Thrush, managing principal at Friedman, Framme & Thrush, P.A., in Owings Mills, Maryland, a LegalShield provider firm. Taking someone to small claims court should be a last resort.
No result? Consider sending a demand letter, an effective method of provoking action. “I think most people want to pay what they owe,” Thrush says. “They just need some help figuring out how to do it. The demand letter is a great tool to open that dialogue.” You can write your own letter or have an attorney do it for a reasonable fee at LegalShield.com, RocketLawyer.com, eforms.com, nolo.com and other sites.
The demand letter may encourage your opponent to take the situation more seriously and to pay up or propose a settlement. If not, your arguments will already be summarized, and you’ll have assembled the backup information (much of the preparation you’ll need for court). Set a deadline of about two weeks. If you give too much time, the other party may lose motivation.
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If your demand letter does no good, find out if your case qualifies for small claims court, and how to proceed, by conducting an online search for small claims court in your state. The rules differ by location.
Pay attention to the statute of limitations — the time limit when you can no longer take your case to court — as well as to the dollar limit, which may be between $2,500 and $25,000, depending on the state. If your case exceeds that amount, you’ll need to consult an attorney and take the matter to a different type of court.
The next step is to complete the forms for small claims. Most courts will provide them for filing your suit and for obtaining service of process on the other party, Thrush says. Many courts make them available electronically. Complete the forms and file them with the court, along with the appropriate filing fee for that jurisdiction.
Next, you have to notify the other party that you are taking them to small claims court — in other words, you have to give your opponent a copy of your suit. You can use a sheriff to serve the papers, typically for a fee. You can also hire a process server. “Once the papers are served, the case is docketed, and you are moving through the system,” Thrush explains.
Now you wait. The defendant has 20 days to file an answer if he or she resides in your state; 30 days if out of state. In that time, you may receive the money owed. If so, notify the court that you wish to have the case dismissed. Or the defendant may file a counter suit, and you will have 20 days to respond. If you don’t, the case will be dismissed.
Your state may require you and the defendant to appear before the judge for a pretrial hearing to determine what happens next. In that scenario, the defendant may choose to settle the claim. If not, the judge may order mediation or allow the matter to proceed to trial in small claims court. Mediation is an attempt to settle a case without going to trial. The plaintiff, defendant, attorneys and a neutral third party, called a mediator, discuss the case to try to find a solution.
Once your court date is set, be sure to organize all the information the judge will need to decide the case in your favor: contracts, leases, emails, receipts, invoices, purchase orders, canceled checks and photos. It may be a good idea to arrange these items in a binder or a folder with a table of contents and dividers for easy access.
Now write down what you want to say, and practice it in front of a friend who’ll give you honest feedback. Once in court, you and the defendant will take an oath to tell the truth. You’ll present your case first. Be succinct, as you may have as little as five minutes to speak. The judge may ask questions, and you may do the same of the opposing party.
Do you have one or more witnesses who can add important facts and credibility to your case? Discuss the matter, making sure that your stories jibe. Observe how well these witnesses present themselves.
