Small claims court is a division of the district courts in a community for civil cases involving monetary debts where the amount disputed between the parties is at or below a certain limit. The maximum amount varies from state to state, ranging anywhere from $2,000.00 to $15,000.00 (call your local district court to verify the amount in your area). Any civil dispute involving an amount over the maximum allowed in small claims court must be filed in circuit court.

Most of the cases heard in small claims court involve the following types of claims:

– Damage to vehicle or other personal property

– The plaintiff (person filing case) is owed money by someone who failed to pay

– Tenant has failed to pay rent

– Other landlord/tenant disputes

– The plaintiff has been sold defective merchandise and the vendor refuses to refund him

– Car repairs

– Purchased used cars (new car purchases usually fall under a state’s “lemon laws” and must be filed in circuit court)

– Collecting bad debts

– Property damage

– Defective product and warranty issues

(Please note that personal injury claims are not appropriate for small claims court, due to the fact that medical bills usually exceed the maximum amount allowed).

As a general rule, attorneys are allowed in small claims court but are not required. This can benefit both parties by saving them hundreds or thousands of dollars in legal fees. Individuals may file a claim only on their own behalf. Corporations, partnerships, and associations may also file cases in small claims court, but only if represented by a non lawyer. This rule allows for a more level “playing field” if an individual with limited financial resources finds himself in a legal dispute with a corporation able to intimidate or overwhelm the individual with an army of attorneys at its disposal.

Small claims court differs from cases heard in circuit court in that only the plaintiff, the defendant, and witnesses are allowed to participate in the trial. The case is heard and decided by a district court judge, and no jury trials are allowed.

Another advantage to filing a case in small claims court is that the fee for filing a case is much less than filing a case in circuit court. Where in circuit court the average cost of filing a case is at least $150.00, in most small claims courts the filing fee is between $20.00 to $50.00. Hence, it is a cost-effective alternative for the average individual to have legal disputes adjudicated.

Small claims courts were designed to relieve the burdensome backlog of cases set for trial in circuit court, a chronic problem in almost all circuit courts across the country, which usually have court dockets backed up for months, if not years. Hence, in addition to being more informal and less expensive than circuit court, small claims courts allow cases which fall under its jurisdiction to be heard must faster than if they were required to be filed in circuit court, where the case might languish on the docket indefinitely before it is finally adjudicated. For legal disputes involving a relatively small amount of money, it is by far the best court for an injured party to have his case heard and resolved.

Easy Court Canada is an online tool that makes it easy to prepare your Small Claims Court Ontario forms in the comfort of your home.

Easy Court Canada is an online tool that makes it easy to prepare your Small Claims Court Ontario forms in the comfort of your home.
http://www.easycourt.ca/ontario/

Author Bio: Easy Court Canada is an online tool that makes it easy to prepare your Small Claims Court Ontario forms in the comfort of your home.

Category: Legal
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