4 ms·

Last I checked, small claims court in more than one state tops out at well under $10K. Hence the adjective “small”. IOW, you ain’t getting $20K out of small cl

Last I checked, small claims court in more than one state tops out at well under $10K. Hence the adjective “small”. IOW, you ain’t getting $20K out of small claims court.

HWR_14 3y ago
Indeed, small claims are there so you and I can quickly settle the matter of you denting my car or something, possibly without either of us hiring lawyers (and in some states lawyers are forbidden), empaneling a jury, etc. because we are arguing about $250. Like "Judge Judy" but with a real judge.
b112 3y ago
Huh, 25k where I am, but in Canuck bucks. Still, even 10k is better than 0k. And many small claims courts forbit compelled discovery. I paid $100, had no lawyer, wrote 2 pages of "what happened", served the paperwork by hand (and went back to the court and gave an affidavit to that effect), and ... The other side "big corp" had a law firm, and several lawyers. I paid $100 and spent a few hours. The paid 50k to their lawyers, and we just talked on front of a judge. In terms of "stick em in the eye" it's the way to go.
- tredre3 3y ago
  10k was the limit in most of Canada until the 2000s. Since then most provinces have adjusted their limits. It is now 35k in BC/SK/ON and 15k in MB/QC/NB. Alberta is the outlier as usual. They're raising the limit to 100k next week.
- mikestew 3y ago
  The other side "big corp" had a law firm, and several lawyers. Interesting: no lawyers in U. S. small claims court. That probably has something to do with the lower dollar limits in the U. S., but IANAL nor spend much time in court.
  - b112 3y ago
    There are no lawyers as lawyers. Here, anyone can represent you, on your behalf. But all sorts of lawyerish things (discovery) are prohibited, cost recovery, and the judge must explain things to you, especially if some party uses gibberish(legalese) in an argument. So the playing field is level, a lawyer as a lawyer doesn't happen, and so it is amusing to see Big Corp pay out of their nose. Oh, and they must have a representative "standing by" which often means in person.

Last I checked, small claims court in more than one state tops out at well under $10K. Hence the adjective “small”. IOW, you ain’t getting $20K out of small claims court.

HWR_14 3y ago

Indeed, small claims are there so you and I can quickly settle the matter of you denting my car or something, possibly without either of us hiring lawyers (and in some states lawyers are forbidden), empaneling a jury, etc. because we are arguing about $250. Like "Judge Judy" but with a real judge.

b112 3y ago

Huh, 25k where I am, but in Canuck bucks. Still, even 10k is better than 0k. And many small claims courts forbit compelled discovery. I paid $100, had no lawyer, wrote 2 pages of "what happened", served the paperwork by hand (and went back to the court and gave an affidavit to that effect), and ... The other side "big corp" had a law firm, and several lawyers. I paid $100 and spent a few hours. The paid 50k to their lawyers, and we just talked on front of a judge. In terms of "stick em in the eye" it's the way to go.

tredre3 3y ago
10k was the limit in most of Canada until the 2000s. Since then most provinces have adjusted their limits. It is now 35k in BC/SK/ON and 15k in MB/QC/NB. Alberta is the outlier as usual. They're raising the limit to 100k next week.
mikestew 3y ago
The other side "big corp" had a law firm, and several lawyers. Interesting: no lawyers in U. S. small claims court. That probably has something to do with the lower dollar limits in the U. S., but IANAL nor spend much time in court.
- b112 3y ago
  There are no lawyers as lawyers. Here, anyone can represent you, on your behalf. But all sorts of lawyerish things (discovery) are prohibited, cost recovery, and the judge must explain things to you, especially if some party uses gibberish(legalese) in an argument. So the playing field is level, a lawyer as a lawyer doesn't happen, and so it is amusing to see Big Corp pay out of their nose. Oh, and they must have a representative "standing by" which often means in person.