Taking Your Case to Small Claims Court

The great thing about small claims court is that you don't have to pay a lawyer more money than your dispute involved in the first place. In fact, often lawyers aren't allowed in small claims court. If you want to fine tune your case, you could hire a lawyer for an hour or two to go over the case with you outside of court.

Once you get to court, a judge or arbitrator will hear your case. You won't have to know the rules of court procedure and you'll be able to present your side in plain English.

Related

In Debt? Consider Counseling

Warnings About Buying Used Cars

Consumer Protection: Beating Con Artists

If the defendant doesn't show up in court, often you win automatically.

Keep in mind that if you lose your case, you do not have the right to sue again in a regular court. However, if the defendant loses, he does have the right to appeal to another court.

If you win, there's still no guarantee that the defendant will pay the judgment. In some states, the court has no power to make the defendant hand over the money. Other states are more helpful.

It's possible the defendant simply doesn't have the money to give you. At that point, you can research whether the defendant owns any real estate and put a lien against that real estate. When the defendant goes to sell the property, he will have to pay you out of the proceeds.

If the defendant owns any valuables like a car or store inventory, you may be able to get the sheriff's department to seize those valuables and auction them off to satisfy your judgment. You may also be able to garnish the defendant's wages.

Do Your Homework

Try free measures like complaining to the Better Business Bureau and to government watchdogs before suing in small claims court.

Learn the statute of limitations for your type of dispute in your jurisdiction. If you do want to sue, be sure you do it before the deadline.

Get an accurate name and address for the company or person you are suing, otherwise your case will be dismissed.

Carefully prepare for your day in court. It's your only chance, so get organized and prepare to fight.

Follow all the steps allowed in your jurisdiction for collecting your judgment.