First, let`s understand what a small claims court is and what it is not. Small Claims Court handles civil disputes involving small amounts of money. These are places where you can get legal recourse on your outstanding debts, but only up to a certain monetary limit. These are not places where you expect to receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid account fees and costs from your defaulting customer. Instead, each court has its own individual limit per state. For example, in California, you can file a lawsuit in their small claims court system, as long as it doesn`t exceed $10,000 for individuals and sole proprietors and $5,000 for businesses or other businesses. Always appear in court if you are asked to do so in court documents, or if a judge, arbitrator, employee or lawyer asks you to do so in your case. If you are in court on your hearing date, you can ask the court to postpone (or « adjourn ») your trial, but the court can reject your application if you don`t have a valid reason. If the civil order has been duly served on the defendant and the defendant does not appear on the day of return, a « default judgment » may be issued against the defendant. In this case, the court will make a judgment in favour of the applicant on the date of the hearing based on sufficient evidence from the applicant to support the application. The defendant lost the case.
If someone is suing you, but you have a reason to sue them, you can always sue them in the same case. You can do this by filing a counterclaim against them with the clerk of the court. In Small Claims Court, a counterclaim can only be directed to money. You should call the clerk of the court to ask how you can file a counterclaim. See contact information below. If you file a counterclaim on the day of the hearing, the plaintiff can ask the judge to postpone the hearing so that he or she has time to prepare. If the plaintiff does not appear in court, the defendant may ask the judge to decide the case in his or her favour. The complaint explains who will take you to court and why. If you need to postpone the hearing to a later date, you can prepare and file a written request for a deferral of proceedings (small claims) (Form SC-150). A witness may be you, someone who knows something about the dispute, and/or someone who is familiar with the underlying purpose of the lawsuit (i.e., an expert witness).
All witnesses must swear and commit to telling the truth in court. If a witness does not want to testify or provide documents to help with the case, you can ask the court for a subpoena. Mediation is confidential, which means that what is said during mediation should not be disclosed to the court or judge. If a party decides to refuse mediation, the judge will not be informed of the party who decided not to use mediation. You may also have claims that you can make against the company suing you. Again, you should speak to a lawyer before deciding to file a counterclaim against the company. Bring evidence or witnesses to prove your case, if possible. Arrive at the courthouse at least 30 minutes early. You have to go through security and sometimes the queues can be long. If one of the parties does not appear on the day of the trial, the court will dismiss your case. If, as a defendant, you are not present within an hour of the date the case is scheduled, the court will hear the case without you (this process is called an inquiry).
The amount you have to pay to file a case and serve the case may vary depending on the court. Ask the court clerk about costs. These fees must be paid in cash, by certified cheque or money order. Q. What should I do if I agree with the allegations made in the lawsuit? Your answer is your chance to explain what happened. Inquire: If the deputy sheriff or private trial server is unable to deliver the documents using the above methods, the documents will be returned to court with the written statement from the deputy sheriff or private trial server that the defendant has not been found. This means that the sheriff or bailiff could not serve the documents and there is no good service. If there is no good service, the court cannot hear the case. You need to find a better address or seek the advice of a lawyer.
Ask the court office to give you a notice explaining why the debtor of the judgment must appear in court. You must be in court that day. You must pay a fee to a municipal police officer or deputy sheriff to give this form to the judgment debtor, but this amount is in addition to what the debtor owes. Even if you do not contest jurisdiction, it is the judge`s duty to verify that the court chosen by the plaintiff is appropriate, that is, to investigate the facts sufficiently to be able to decide whether there is a legal basis to bring the case before that court. If the judge decides that the court chosen by the plaintiff is an ordinary court, he or she may (but only in rare cases) refer the case to another court whose place is more favourable to the parties and their witnesses. For example, if many witnesses have to come to court from a remote location, the judge may order that the case be referred to a court near that location.