GOING TO SMALL CLAIMS COURT

Michael Howard Wolf Law Firm

So, you have a situation where somebody owes you some amount of money. Let’s assume that the amount of money that this individual owes you is not more than $5,000. Now, you are pacing back and forth, eventually formulating the idea that you are going to sue this individual in order to collect what is owed to you. You say to yourself, “Crap! I need a good lawyer to sue this guy for everything he’s worth!” When you go to speak with the lawyer that you find, the lawyer tells you that his fees for handling this case are going to be TWICE as much as the amount for which you are suing the individual. WHAT?! So, that sounds like a really silly idea, even if you genuinely believe that you can get your attorney fees back in the proceeding, which is usually not the reality. Now the question becomes: what does one do when one is owed some amount of money that is less than $5,000, when lawyers are charging too much, and you’re completely on your own? Well, in Florida, in our court system, the lowest rung of civil court is called Small Claims Court. Small Claims Court has its own set of rules and these particular rules are designed to have these disputes over smaller amounts of money determined in a fast and efficient way. Let me give you some pointers on starting a Small Claims Court case and what to expect throughout the process of Small Claims Court. You can file a Small Claims Court case by filing something called a Statement of Claim. You can find all the necessary documents on your Clerk of Court’s website, and you can also obtain all of the instructions and filing fees on your Clerk of Court’s website. Specifically, in South Florida, there are several branch courts in Miami-Dade County, Broward County, and Palm Beach County. Typically, you can use any of these branch courts, probably choosing the one that is most convenient for you, to file your Small Claims Court case and to have it heard at that particular location. When you file your Statement of Claim for your Small Claims Court case, you must serve the Defendant (the person you are suing) with that paperwork so that they receive something called a Notice of Pretrial Conference. A Pretrial Conference is the first proceeding in a Small Claims Court case. You go to court, finding yourself amongst hundreds of people in the courtroom because there are hundreds of Small Claims Court cases every day. The Judge will then call your case, you will walk up and, if the Defendant is present, the Judge will say, “Here are a bunch of our County Court Mediators, so go in a room with them and see if you can settle the case.” Very often, you will find that these Small Claims Court cases get settled during the mediation, which results in minimal cost for your time, minimal cost for your stress, and, as part of whatever mediated settlement you agree to, you can get your cost of filing the action reimbursed. Now, let’s talk about Small Claims Court if you are a corporation. In Florida, corporations cannot represent themselves, but they certainly CAN in Small Claims Court. So, even if it is a corporate debt that is owed to you and you want to address it in Small Claims Court, you are allowed to represent your corporation in this limited fashion. Whether you’re a corporation or an individual, do not be afraid to pursue your rights and do not be afraid to go after money, because taking a matter to Small Claims Court is not a particularly difficult process. The system is designed to streamline Small Claims Court cases and to get you potentially satisfactory results in a short amount of time that is much less expensive.