What is Small Claims Court?

In California, the small claims court is a special court where disputes are quickly and inexpensively resolved. The rules are simple and the trial is informal. An individual can't ask for more than $7,500 in a claim. Businesses and governmental bodies can't ask for more than $5,000. More

Filing a Small Claims Suit

If you file a claim in a California small claims court, be prepared to spend some time preparing for your hearing, meeting with witnesses and attending the hearing. A plaintiff initiates a lawsuit by filing a claim to sue a defendant but the defendant may also file a claim in the same lawsuit. More

Small Claims Trials

You can get ready for court by planning what you are going to say. You can also talk to a small claims legal advisor or a lawyer before court. In court, the plaintiff will present his case first and then the defendant will be given an opportunity to present his side. More

Witnesses at a Small Claims Trial

Witnesses are people who come to court to tell what they've seen or heard. Whether you're the plaintiff or the defendant, you may bring witnesses to support your story. These people should either be witnesses who saw what happened or experts on the subject matter of the claim involved. More

After Small Claims Court

After your small claims trial is over, you may need to get paid or pay what you owe, you may also want to cancel the judgment, appeal the judgment or correct an error. More

Collecting the Judgment

Don't think the small claims process is over just because you filed a claim, went to trial and won a court judgment. You may need to take action and spend money to enforce the judgment. Sometimes it's difficult or even impossible to enforce the judgment. More

Alternatives to Small Claims Court

Suing someone in court isn't the only way to solve a legal problem. There are alternative ways to solve your legal problems outside of court. These alternatives are called alternative dispute resolution or ADR for short. More

Tagged as: Consumer Law, Contracts, Real Estate