Small Claims
or
People's Court
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Members' Homepage Also see: Mediation and Dispute Resolution Small Claims Courts are now better known as People's Courts, perhaps because of TV shows by that name. They have been established in the U.S. to resolve minor disputes and those involving relatively modest amounts of money. The people or businesses involved in the litigation appropriate to small claims, normally present their cases to a judge, magistrate or court commissioner under rules that encourage a minimum of legal and procedural formality. The maximum amount you can sue for varies among the states from $1,000 to $15,000, but small claims is limited to $5,000 or less in most states. The presiding official listens to testimony, examines evidence, then makes a decision (a judgment), usually right then and there. The right of appeal to a higher court is protected, however small claim rules may still apply. Although procedural rules dealing with when and where to file and how to serve papers are established by each state's laws and differ in some detail, the basic approach to properly preparing and presenting a small claims case is remarkably similar throughout the United States. In most states you can be represented by a lawyer in a small claims court if you like. However, in a handful of states, including California, Nebraska and Michigan, you must appear on your own. Michigan, and perhaps some others, have adopted important new legislation that allows a property manager to appear on behalf of a property owner in small claims cases relating to landlord tenant issues. Where hiring a lawyer for Small Claims Court is allowed, it is rarely cost-efficient. Most lawyers charge too much to prepare a case and go to court, given the relatively small amounts of money involved in small claims disputes. Interestingly, several studies show that people who represent themselves in small claims cases usually do just as well as those who have a lawyer. Small claims courts are an important and valuable tool that should be understood and used by every landlord. All to often bad tenants get away with bad behavior which makes them more likely to repeat with the next landlord, and the next. Judgments are almost always collectable at some point so they are usually worth the time and small amount of money necessary to go to small claims court. See our page on Garnishment in this Web and the extensive general discussion regarding Collecting Small Claims Court Judgments . You can get a nearly professional education on the subject by taking our e-course on Collecting.
1 No limit in deposit cases.
2 $6,000 in Marion and Lake Counties; $3,000 in others.
3 $15,000 if county population over 700,000
4 Depends on jurisdiction. $10,000 is maximum.
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