HOW TO WIN IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT

by Joelle Steele

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I have been to Small Claims Court more times than I can count, mostly to observe, but also on several occasions when I wasn't paid for services rendered. I have never lost in Small Claims Court. I even won in traffic court and three times in Superior Court appearing on my own behalf. I have been to court in California, Arizona, Georgia, New Jersey, and Texas. Only on one occasion did I ever fail to collect on the money owed to me: $100 from a guy in Michigan who ultimately skipped town, probably owing other people besides me.

Small Claims Court is a fairly simple process. You have a dispute, you try to settle it outside of court by negotiating a compromise, or a payment plan, or whatever you can do to get satisfaction. But, if that doesn't work, and the dollar amount of the dispute falls within your Small Claims Court's limits, you can file a claim and the court will set a date for it to be heard in front of a judge.

Small Claims Court judges are very sharp. They have heard it all and then some. You can't put any nonsense by them at all. No stupid excuses about how you forgot to pay someone or forgot to send them an invoice, or how you didn't know you owed the money or you didn't know you were supposed to send a bill, or how the Small Claims notice was the first you heard that there was a problem. No judge will fall for that kind of lame excuse. They know that you know all about what you should and should not do. All they are interested in is the evidence that supports your case.

Evidence. That's what has always allowed me to win in court. Evidence means paperwork. Possibly photos. A signed contract. A diagram. Copies of correspondence or invoices. Paid bills. Cancelled checks. An eyewitness or two. In general, in Small Claims Court, the person with the most paperwork, the most evidence, and the eyewitness, is the one who will win. You simply must be able to document your case. If you show up empty-handed, you have lost your case before you even step foot into the courtroom.

Most cases that you see on TV Small Claims shows are similar to the real thing. But most of the cases you see on those shows should have been settled out of court. The producers just pick the most ridiculous and combative people to appear on these shows — ones who are such an embarrassment to themselves that they are sure to be found entertaining by viewers. Hopefully, you will not make a fool of yourself in a courtroom, let alone on nationwide TV. Start by being polite and civil, especially to the judge. Act like an adult. In fact, if you do this when your dispute first arises, you can save yourself a lot of headaches and can probably settle it yourself in a much more amicable manner. Good behavior also goes quite a ways with a judge.

I have rarely had difficulty of any kind getting paid. In every case where I had to go to court, it was only because I could not get a response of any kind from the person who owed me money — even when they had no complaint about my product or service and even when I was perfectly willing to accept the most minimal of payments — and so I had no recourse but to file a claim. However, in three of those instances, I bypassed court and opted for arbitration, which is offered in many Small Claims courts these days. I won my cases there too.

Once you get a judgment in your favor, you are not out of the woods yet. You still have to collect the money that is owed you. If you know that the person who owes the money is hard to find or is difficult to deal with, you can ask the judge for a writ of execution. This document is then given to the marshal's office and they set about collecting the money on your behalf. I have only twice had to use the marshal's office to do this, because usually people paid me in full within a matter of a few days of the judgment.

You can win in court too. Start by learning how to negotiate with people who owe you money so that you can avoid going to court altogether, or so that you will have some track record of trying to settle before you do need to file a claim. Also, visit your local Small Claims Court and observe the proceedings so that you can see the kinds of cases that are heard and the way the judges operate. This will help you be better prepared and more likely to win if you ever have to go to Small Claims Court.