Small claims court allows you to sue a person, business, or government agency that you think owes you money. You can ask a lawyer for advice before you go to court, but you can't have one with you in court.
The costs. How long to go to court. Once you file papers to start a case, you typically have a court date trial in about months. That process is much more challenging and expensive, though, especially if you decide to file on your own without an attorney. Give it a try!
Learn about going to small claims court, using instructions and guides to help you with your case. Also learn about trying to resolve your dispute out of court, and get answers to frequently asked questions. Basics Review general information about small claims court and cases. And figure out if small claims is right for your situation using helpful resources.
This information can help you decide if small claims is right for you, show you how to resolve your case without going to court, and more. Most lawsuits MUST be filed within a certain amount of time. In general, once the statute of limitations on a case "runs out," the legal claim is not valid any longer.
The period of time you have to sue someone varies depending to the type of legal claim. Here are the statutes of limitations for some common types of legal disputes:. It is not easy to figure out if it is too late to file and even knowing whether a contract is written or oral can be very difficult. If you are not sure, get advice from the small claims advisor or a lawyer if you can, and if not, file your case and let the judge decide.
The filing fee is based on the amount of your claim and the number of claims you have filed in the past 12 months: Currently, the filing fees, if you have filed 12 or fewer claims in the past 12 months, are:. Filing fees change, so make sure you check to see what the current filing fees for small claims cases are at the time of your filing. If you are suing someone, you must go to court.
You will go to court between 20 and 70 days after you file your claim. You cannot send anyone else even a lawyer to represent you in small claims court.
But there are some exceptions:. For more information about exceptions, read California Code of Civil Procedure section If you are being sued, you must go to court if you want your side of the case to be considered. If you do not go to court, a judgment may be entered against you. This would be a judgment based on the evidence that the side suing you provided, without you having a chance to provide any evidence. Many cases are usually scheduled for the same time and the calendar can be very crowded.
This makes it impossible for any one case to take a lot of time because the court has to get through all the cases on the calendar. This is why it is so important to be well prepared so you can present your case quickly and efficiently. The judge will listen to both sides of the story. To help tell your side, take evidence to support your claims, like:.
The judge may make a decision at your hearing or mail it to you later. Instead of a judge, you may have a commissioner or temporary judge at your hearing. They both serve in the same role as judges. A commissioner is hired by the court to sit as a judge and hear certain types of cases that the law allows commissioners to hear, such as traffic infractions and small claims cases. A temporary judge called a "judge pro tem" or "judge pro tempore" is someone who has been a lawyer for at least 10 years and is specially trained to hear and decide small claims cases.
If you do not want a temporary judge, you can ask the court to have a judge hear your case. You may have to come back another day. Find out how to get ready for court.
If the person being sued does not show up for the hearing, the plaintiff still needs to prove his or her case. If the defendant can show a good reason for missing the court date, such as a medical emergency, the defendant may be able to get the judgment canceled and a new trial date set.
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