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Basic Considerations and Questions

What Is Small Claims Court?

The small claims court is a special court in which disputes are resolved inexpensively and quickly. The rules are simple. The hearing is informal. Attorneys are not allowed. The person who files the lawsuit is the plaintiff , and the person being sued is the defendant.

The claims are limited to disputes up to $5,000. However, a claimant can't file more than two small claims court actions for more than $2,500 anywhere in this state during any calendar year. For example, if you file a claim for $3,000 in February of 2001, and another claim for $4,000 in March of 2001, you can't file another claim for more than $2,500 in any small claims court until January 1, 2002. However, you can still file as many claims as you wish for $2,500 or less.

The filing fee is only $20. It is paid by the plaintiff to the clerk of the small claims court. (Multiple filers - claimants who have filed 13 or more claims within the previous 12 months - pay $35 per claim.)
Since the limits on the claim and the filing fees are subject to change by legislative action, you should check with your local court or small claims advisor or small claims clerk to determine the correct filing fees and the current limits on claims. To access Sacramento County's small claims advisor's web site, click here.

Small claims courts can order a defendant to do something, as long as a claim for money is also part of the suit. The court can cancel a contract. The court can order your neighbor to pay you for your lawn mower or to return it promptly. Examples of other disputes that might be resolved in small claims court are:

You don't need to be a United States citizen to file or defend a case in small claims court. If you don't speak English and will have difficulty presenting your case in court, ask the court clerk about having an interpreter attend the hearing with you. If you can't afford an interpreter, ask if one can be provided by the court. The interpreter can't be an attorney and can't represent you. If the court doesn't provide interpreters, you should bring someone who speaks English and ask the court to allow that person to be your interpreter.

In most small claims courts, cases are heard within 30-60 days after filing of the plaintiff's claim. However, cases against defendants who live outside the county are heard within 60-70 days after the filing of the plaintiff's claim.

Is Small Claims Court Your Best Option?

Before filing a small claims case, it's important to decide whether small claims court is the best place to resolve your dispute. Many disputes can be resolved by using other dispute resolution methods, such as mediation. Many counties help resolve disputes informally through their local consumer affairs offices or through local public or private dispute resolution programs.

You need to consider whether the defendant is legally responsible for the claim. Is the law on your side? If there is a law that applies to your case, the small claims judge will follow that law, interpreting it in a spirit of reasonableness and fairness to both parties. If the law isn't on your side, but you feel that justice is on your side, you may get more favorable results through voluntary mediation.

If you decide to file a small claims court case, be prepared to devote some time and effort to it. This includes preparing for the hearing, gathering evidence, meeting with witnesses, and attending the hearing.

You also may need to take action and spend money to enforce any judgment. While a small claims court judgment carries legal weight, it may be difficult or even impossible to enforce. Collecting a court judgment is one of the most challenging and frustrating aspects of any lawsuit. The person who is obligated to pay the judgment may not have the money to pay or may simply refuse to pay. Enforcement procedures are available, but these require extra effort and money on your part.

In deciding whether to file a small claims case, remember that you can't appeal. By choosing the small claims court to resolve the dispute, a plaintiff gives up the right to have another court review the small claims judge's decision. So if you should lose, that's probably the end of the case for you. However, the person or entity you sue (the defendant) may appeal the judge's ruling to the superior court, where the entire case will be heard again.

Have You Tried to Settle the Dispute Yourself?

Have you and the defendant tried to resolve the dispute on a friendly basis? If you haven't done so before filing suit, why not try? At the very least, you should ask the defendant for the legal remedy that you hope the judge will award you before you file your small claims court case.

Are you able to give the other person some added incentive to perform? If he or she owes you money, you might consider offering to accept less than the full amount, if it is paid now. If you owe money, it may be worth paying a bit more than you feel you owe, just to end the dispute. If the dispute goes to a court hearing and results in a judgment against you, the amount that you owe may be increased by court costs and interest, and the judgment will be noted in your credit record.

If there's no dispute about the amount you owe, but you simply can't pay the entire debt at one time, consider offering to make monthly or weekly payments until the debt is paid. (Even after the case is decided, the judge can authorize you to pay the judgment by weekly or monthly installment payments.)

Have You Considered Mediation?

Mediation is a procedure for resolving disputes informally: a third party - a mediator - helps the parties arrive at their own solution. Unlike a judge, a mediator doesn't issue a decision. The beauty of the mediation process is that it attempts to restore the relationship between the parties. While only some disputes can be resolved by mediation (since both parties must agree to the results), consider whether your dispute can be resolved that way. Disputes involving neighbors and family members are particularly well suited for mediation because of the relationships between the parties.

If you decide that mediation (rather than small claims court) might resolve the dispute, ask the clerk if the small claims court offers a mediation program. If not, the clerk may know of a publicly funded program in your county. In Sacramento County, you can obtain more information about the mediation service offered to small claims litigants by calling (916) 875-7843. You can also locate a mediation program by looking in the business section of your telephone directory or by calling the Consumer Information Center of the California Department of Consumer Affairs at (800) 952-5210 outside the Sacramento area or (916) 445-1254 in the Sacramento area. Hearing-impaired persons may call TDD (800) 326-2297 or, in the Sacramento area, TDD 322-1700.

Where Can You Obtain More Information and Advice?

· Small Claims Advisor - A small claims advisor gives free advice to small claims disputants. The law requires each county to provide a small claims advisory service. Some advisors are available only by phone, while others may be visited in an office setting. Some advisory services provide recorded advice by phone. Small claims advisors provide information regarding the procedural rules, and may assist you in preparing your case. The web site for Sacramento County's small claims advisor can be viewed by clicking here.

Who Can File or Defend a Claim?

With certain exceptions, anyone can sue or be sued in small claims court. Generally, all parties must represent themselves. A person or an entity (for example, a corporation) that files a small claims action is called the plaintiff. The party who is sued is called the defendant.

An individual can sue another individual, or even a business, but may not file a claim against a federal agency. Businesses, in turn, can sue individuals or other businesses. However, an assignee (a person or business that sues on behalf of another, such as a collection agency) can't sue in small claims court.

In order to file or defend a case in small claims court, you must be at least 18 years old and be mentally competent. Persons who are under 18 or who have been declared mentally incompetent by a court must be represented by a guardian ad litem. For a minor, the representative is ordinarily one of his or her parents. The court clerk or small claims advisor can explain how to have a guardian ad litem appointed.

If the court determines that a party can't properly present his or her claim or defense and needs assistance, the court may allow another individual to assist that party. The individual must provide assistance only - the individual's actions must not constitute representation.

Can Someone Else Represent You?

In most situations, parties to a small claims action must represent themselves. As a general rule, attorneys or non-attorney representatives (such as collection agencies or insurance companies) may not act as representatives. Self-representation is usually required. There are, however, several exceptions to this general rule:

Corporation or other legal entity

A corporation or other legal entity (but not a natural person) can be represented by a regular employee, an officer, or a director, and a partnership can be represented by a regular employee or a partner, but these representatives may not be attorneys or others whose only job is to represent the party in small claims court.

Property agent

A property agent may represent the owner of rental property if the property agent was hired principally to manage the rental of that property and not principally to represent the property owner in small claims court and the claim relates to the rental property. At the hearing, the agent should tell the judge that he or she was hired principally to manage the property, or this statement may be in a written declaration.

Sole proprietorship

A sole proprietorship (such as a physician) can be represented by an employee, officer, or director if the claim can be proved or disputed by evidence of an account and there is no other issue of fact in the case. If both of these requirements are met, the claimant's representative must be able to testify that (1) the evidence of the account was made in the regular course of business, (2) the evidence of the account was made at or near the time of the transaction, and (3) the sources of the information about the account and its time and method of preparation are such as to indicate their trustworthiness. For example, this exception to the general rule of self-representation might permit a dentist's bookkeeper to represent the dentist in an action to collect a patient's account. However, if the patient alleged that the dentist's services were unnecessary or performed poorly, the case would involve another issue of fact, and the dentist would need to appear at the hearing in person.

In the following kinds of situations, a party need not appear in court and may either send a representative or submit written declarations to prove his or her claim or defense. However, the representative can't be compensated and is disqualified if he or she has appeared in small claims actions on behalf of others four or more times during the calendar year.

An individual who represents a party to a small claims court action must sign a written declaration - a form provided by the clerk of the small claims court. The declaration must state that the individual signing it is actually authorized to represent the party, and it also must describe the basis for that authorization, such as a letter from the represented party. If the represented party is a corporation or other legal entity or an owner of real property, the declaration also must state that the representative isn't employed solely to represent the corporation or entity in small claims court. In the other situations listed above, the declaration must state that the representative is acting without compensation and hasn't appeared as a representative in small claims actions more than four times during the calendar year.

Can Your Spouse Represent You?

Spouses may represent each other in small claims court if they have a joint interest in the claim or defense and the represented spouse has given his or her consent. However, one spouse may not represent the other if the court decides that justice would not be served - such as where their interests are not the same and may conflict. The represented spouse need not come to court if the judge allows representation.

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