Small claims court has very low limits. Beyond that, it’s very easy for a large company to make a lawsuit cost more than it’s worth - you’re paying court costs

Small claims court has very low limits. Beyond that, it’s very easy for a large company to make a lawsuit cost more than it’s worth - you’re paying court costs up front, they’re going to litigate every single detail to say that you didn’t complete everything (both to lower the total and to prevent you from being able to do full time work for someone else), and delay things hoping you’ll give up or make some mistake. It’s not super common but every freelancer I know has a client from hell story. The abusive ones get pretty good at calibrating the amount they can screw someone out of while still being only marginally worth the cost and effort of suing.