Small Claims
or
People's Court

This Is A Summary Page
The below topics are discussed in much more depth
  on our members' Small Claims Court page.

Non-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 .

Small Claims Court Suit $ Limits

State

Maximum Dollar Amount

Brochures/Pamphlets

Court Links

Alabama

$3000

Alabama Brochure

Alabama Court Link

Alaska

$7500

Alaska Brochure

Alaska Court Link

Arizona

$2500

Arizona Brochure

Arizona Court Link

Arkansas

$5000

Arkansas Brochure

 

California

$5000

California Brochure

California Court Link

Colorado

$5000

Colorado Brochure

 

Connecticut

$3500

Connecticut Brochure

Connecticut Court Link

Delaware

$15000

Delaware Brochure

Delaware Court Link

District of Columbia

$5000

District of Columbia Brochure

District of Columbia Court Link

Florida

$5000

Florida Brochure

Florida Court Link

Georgia

$5000

Georgia Brochure (Cobb County)

Georgia Court Link

Hawaii 1

$3500

Hawaii Brochure

Hawaii Court Link

Idaho

$3000

Idaho Brochure

Idaho Court Link

Illinois

$5000

Illinois Brochure

 

Indiana 2

$3000

Indiana Brochure (Hamilton County)

Indiana Court Link

Iowa

$4000

Iowa Brochure

Iowa Court Link

Kansas

$1800

Kansas Brochure

Kansas Court Link

Kentucky

$1500

Kentucky Brochure

Kentucky Court Link

Louisiana

$3000

Louisiana Brochure

 

Maine

$4500

Maine Brochure

Maine Court Link

Maryland

$2500

Maryland Brochure

Maryland Court Link

Massachusetts

$2000

Massachusetts Brochure

Massachusetts Court Link

Michigan

$3000

Michigan Brochure

Michigan Court Link

Minnesota

$7500

Minnesota Brochure

Minnesota Court Link

Mississippi

$2500

 

 

Missouri

$3000

Missouri Brochure

Missouri Court Link

Montana

$3000

Montana Brochure

Montana Court Link

Nebraska

$2400

Nebraska Brochure

Nebraska Court Link

Nevada

$5000

Nevada Brochure (Las Vegas)

Nevada Court Link (Las Vegas)

New Hampshire

$2500

New Hampshire Brochure

New Hampshire Court Link

New Jersey

$2000

New Jersey Brochure

New Jersey Court Link

New Mexico

$7500

New Mexico Brochure

New Mexico Court Link

New York

$3000

New York Brochure

New York Court Links

North Carolina

$4000

North Carolina Brochure

North Carolina Court Link

North Dakota

$5000

North Dakota Brochure

North Dakota Court Link

Ohio

$3000

Ohio Brochure

Ohio Court Link

Oklahoma

$4500

Oklahoma Brochure

 

Oregon

$5000

 

Oregon Court Link

Pennsylvania

$5000-10000

 

 

Rhode Island

$1500

 

Rhode Island Court Link

South Carolina

$5000

South Carolina Brochure

South Carolina Court Link

South Dakota

$8000

South Dakota Brochure

South Dakota Court Link

Tennessee 3

$10000

Tennessee Brochure

 

Texas

$5000

Texas Brochure (Williamson County)

Texas Court Link

Utah

$5000

Utah Brochure

Utah Court Link

Vermont

$3500

Vermont Brochure

Vermont Court Link

Virginia 4

$1000

Virginia Brochure

Virginia Court Link

Washington

$2500

Washington Brochure

 

West Virginia

$5000

 

 

Wisconsin

$5000

Wisconsin Brochure (La Crosse)

Wisconsin Court Link

Wyoming

$3000

Wyoming Brochure

Wyoming Court Link

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.

The above topics are discussed in much more depth
  on our members' Small Claims Court page.

Non-Members' Homepage