Who can sue?
One can sue in a small claims court if the individual is 18 years of age or is emancipated.
How much can you file for?
- Individual/sole proprietor: You can sue for up to $10,000.
- Corporations and other entities: Can sue for up to $5,000.
An individual party (individuals/sole proprietors/corporations/other entities) can sue up to two times a year, for a maximum of $2,500 each time.
Examples of Small Claims Cases
- Property damage or personal injury from a car accident.
- Landlord/tenant security deposits.
- Damage to your property by a neighbor.
- Disputes with contractors about repairs or home improvement jobs.
- Collection of money owed.
- Homeowner association disputes
Deadline to File Your Claim
The deadline to file a lawsuit is called the statute of limitations. 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 in not valid anymore.
Here are the statutes of limitations for some common types of legal disputes:
- If you are suing because you got hurt, you can file a claim for up to 2 years after you were hurt.
- If you are suing because a spoken agreement was broken, you have 2 years to file after the agreement was broken.
- If you are suing because a written agreement was broken, you have 4 years to file after the agreement was broken.
- If you are suing because your property was damaged, you have 3 years to file after your property was damaged.
- If you are suing because of fraud, you have 3 years to file after you find out about the fraud. Fraud is when you lose money because someone lied to you or tricked you on purpose.
- If you are suing a government or public agency, you usually have 6 months to file a claim with that agency. They have 45 days to make a decision. If no decision is made within 45 days, then the claim is considered denied. If they reject your claim, you have 6 months to file a claim with a small claims court.
If you do not receive a rejection or acceptance of your claim in those 45 days, you may have more time to file your claim but, to be safe, act within the 6 months or talk to a lawyer to find out for sure how much time you have to file your lawsuit.
Filing Fees for a Small Claims Court
Fees are based on the amount of your claim and the number of claims you have filled in the past 12 months.
Filing Fees, if you have filed 12 or fewer claims in the past 12 months, are:
|
Amount of Your Claim |
Filing Fee |
|
$0 to $1,500 |
$30 |
|
$1,500.01 to $5,000 |
$50 |
|
$5,000.01 to $10,000 |
$75 |
Going to a Small Claims Court
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 to represent you in a small claims court. Exceptions are:
- you are serving on active duty in the armed forces.
- you were assigned to your duty station after your claim arose.
- your assignment is for more than 6 months.
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.
Your Small Claims Hearing
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 must get through all the cases on the calendar. This is why it is 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, such as:
- Witness testimony (in most cases this requires the witness to be present in court, but in limited circumstances, the testimony may be admissible through declaration)
- Photos
- Bills
- Receipts
- Contracts
- Any other relevant documents that support your side
The judge may make a decision at your hearing or mail it to you later. The judge may need to make additional inquiries into the facts before deciding the case or research a legal point, so if the judge says that he/she is “taking the matter under submission”, you will get the decision in the mail.
Instead of a judge, you may have a commissioner or a temporary judge at your hearing. They both serve in the same role as a judge. 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 specifically trained to hear and decide small claim cases. If you do not want a temporary judge, you can ask the court to have a judge hear your case. However, you may be asked to come back another day.
If the person being sued does not show up for the hearing, the plaintiff still needs to prove his/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.
Small Claims Advisor
Small claims advisors offer free legal information and assistance in preparing your case in a small claim's matter.
The Merced County Superior Court has a Small Claims Advisor who can help you with your small claims case by providing a free service for legal information and assistance to people representing themselves in a small claims matter.
You may contact a Small Claims Advisor by calling (209) 725-4168 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.
You may email questions to smallclaims.advisor@mercedcourt.org, and the small claims advisors will respond as time permits during regularly scheduled office hours.
The small claims advisors will be available also at the New Merced Courthouse: 2260 N Street Room 1202 Merced, CA 95340
Note: Please note this is information accessible to the public and does not constitute legal advice nor counsel. Please visit the source below the document for a more in-depth information pertaining to the topics discussed:
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