Advice for or experience with small claims court?

[MrAK]

It?s lookin like I?ll be having to take a business to task in small claims court. I don?t have much experience with any court room setting, and this will be my first time in small claims court. Just looking for advice or experience with this as I start my research and get my ducks in a row.

TIA

[glenncal1]

AK- documentation is key. Make sure to bring any paperwork relating to the dispute (I would bring 2 copies of everything). If you have any records of correspondence bring that as well. If you made phone calls, make a list of dates as best as you can.
You might want to prepare an opening statement ahead of time just so you state your case clearly: "On September 22, 1988 I paid XYZ company to clean my garage and they started the job but only completed 40% of it." Short and sweet. If photographs
will help state your case bring those too: "Here is a photo of may garage after they finished, you can clearly see that the left side was cleaned, but not the right." Courts like paper much more than just words. Good luck.

[sniper7]

They will also probably have you and the businesses representative go to an arbitrator and see if you can handle it without going tIn front of the judge. If this happens and you come to an agreement, get paid on the spot or only agree if they give you bank info, account numbers, collateral or something you can fall back on if they all of a sudden change their mind when you leave the courthouse.

[Skip]

A couple folks here were super helpful when I was going through county court on my own (fired my attorney for not getting results). They might see your post.

I kept a date/time log of everything with references to evidence; letters, reports, and photographs. I didn't record phone calls but summarized them in writing. Instructions for filing (simplified) are on the county websites. I was able to keep it in Douglas since the contract had been signed here. I had the sheriff serve so there were no shenanigans but there were shenanigans. I had to hire a PI to pose as a customer and served their sales guy during the sales call!!!

Once defendant had hired counsel I didn't play games. Showed them everything outside of discovery even via email. Was very polite, firm, and told them I'm not going anywhere. Settled in pretrial mediation for every penny I had claimed including the money I wasted on attorney.

You never know what's going to happen once you file. It blew my mind how much time/money I wasted trying to work with the counter-party and gave them every chance then as soon I filed everything was easy.

[FoxtArt]

Sent you a PM with an old buddies contact info, he knows more about that kind of stuff. [Beer]

Good luck at any rate, that sounds like a mess.

[MrAK]

Thanks for the help so far everyone, definitely some good things to think about. I think one of my biggest concerns will be condensing all my documentation and evidence in to something concise.

[Skip]

Thanks for the help so far everyone, definitely some good things to think about. I think one of my biggest concerns will be condensing all my documentation and evidence in to something concise.

I used an Excel file for the master doc.

Date, Parties, Description, Notes, Reference. Date is sorted ascending to tell the story behind the claim. The "Reference" is an external item; photo, letter, etc...

The better prepared you are up front, the more serious your claim will be viewed. The other "guy" can be a complete ass, not understand his liability or the law, and give you nothing but attitude. Then he consults/hires an attorney and things change.

[glocktoberfest]

Expect the other party to lie and slander you. Prepare accordingly.

[snichols28]

I remember seeing this and using it for help when I filed small claims paperwork earlier in the year. Hope this might help!

Small Claims Handbook (https://www.usafa.af.mil/Portals/21/documents/Leadership/JudgeAdvocate/Small%20Claims%20Handbook.pdf?ver=2015-10-30-115235-577)

Court can be intimidating but small claims court is very easy. Judges know most of their visitors in these cases are not too familiar or too experienced with court. They and/or the mediators walk you through everything. Just make sure you have documents you're bringing to court organized before hand. Judges like people that read the court procedure instructions and have their ducks in a row.

[MrAK]

Just another big thank you to the people who have sent pm’s and replied to this thread, it’s been helpful and appreciated.