Small claims court questions

[henktermaat]

I have a 1-yr old debt of $2500 that I'd like to collect on, thinking about taking some people to small claims court. Any advice?

• How long does it take?
• Is $2500 an amount worth chasing?
• will it cost $1 million in legal fees?
• Do I need a lawyer?
• Do I need to wait longer, or have I waited too long?
• What kind of documentation do I need?
• Do I need the defendant's phone, address, etc?

I've already given them 1 year to pay... but I can't be patient forever.

I would love to hear YOUR small claims court stories.

 

[singlestacksig]

you would need some contact info for the other party so they can be served..

 

[G_Stines]

I have actually gone to small claims and represented myself. I purchased my Rottie as a pup from a business, and they gave me a paper 1 year guarentee of health on their puppies. About 4mo later, she was running and broke her leg. Took her to my vet, and they said that she had malnutritioned bones. So she had surgery on her leg, and a Rx for a calcium/bone strengthening medicine. I made several calls to the GM of the store, and because of the franchise I also contacted the corporate, who told me it was between me and the GM. I went back to the business in question, and presented them the bill (which was quite hefty, between surgery and a 1 year prescription). And they refused to pay. I struggled to talk to them to hopefully keep it out of court, but in the end I ended up taking it to small claims.

We went, I represented myself, presented my own evidence, and affidavits, and ended up walking out with about everything I owed in the vet bills, plus the price of the dog was refunded to me.

To anyone who lives in the Hendricks county area and frequents Avon, this is why the Pet Safari that used to be where the tattoo place is moved.

Also, Here is a manual to small claims to kinda give you a rough idea of how to go about it, and what the rules are. I used it when I was going through this stuff. Most if not all the answers to your question should be found in here.

http://www.in.gov/judiciary/pubs/handbooks/small-claims-manual(2005).pdf

 

[Mr. Habib]

Don't know how long it will take for them to hear your case. Depends on where you are.
$2500.00 is worth it.
Shouldn't cost much more then the filing fee. BTW you can ask for legal fees as part of your judgment.
Don't need a lawyer.
No, you can file now.
Anything that shows that the debt is owed, how much is owed, and that you have tried to collect should be enough. Contract, bill of sale, receipts, phone records, any other correspondence, the more the better.
You will need a physical address so that they can be served.

 

[twocoughs]

Winning don't mean that you will get paid. I won a case 10 yrs. ago and still haven't recieved a dime

 

[henktermaat]

Winning don't mean that you will get paid. I won a case 10 yrs. ago and still haven't recieved a dime

Interesting- I never knew that. So if people can just ignore these rulings, what's the point?

 

[Ashkelon]

you have to request proceeding supplemental hearings and keep coming back for garnishment of wages and disposable income etc. You are better off getting the judgment and wacking their credit. Sometimes people will pay old judgments to clean up their credit in order to by a home etc. Chasing them for 2500 bucks won't be worth your time. Whatever the reason they owe you I am sure you will conduct yourself differently in the next transaction of a similar nature so chalk it up to experience and just stick them with the judgment.
Also, talk to your accountant about the possibility of writing it off as a bad debt on your taxes.

 

[Hoosierbuck]

You can't get blood from a turnip, and in Indiana a person can't be incarcerated for failing to pay a debt (in general). There are other things you can do, called a "pro sup" that can lead to garnishment of wages if you don't get paid (see comment above posted while I wrote this), but getting favorable judgment in the first place is step one. The link above is a good source of info, and only you can decide if you should do it, but your type of case is exactly why there is a small claims court. It is set up so that you do not need a lawyer.
It's not my regular thing, but I would be happy to chat with you about the whole deal if you want.

 

[Mr. Habib]

Interesting- I never knew that. So if people can just ignore these rulings, what's the point?

They may try to ignore it, but if they do they risk you going back to court and have liens attached to their property, garnishing their wages, or freezing and attaching their bank accounts. Not to mention, if they don't pay they could be found in contempt for defying a court order and/or be liable for interest.

 

[88GT]

Interesting- I never knew that. So if people can just ignore these rulings, what's the point?

Because you can't initiate the action to take their cash without the judgment.

Anybody waiting more than a few months for someone to pay-up has only himself to blame.

My personal recommendation is to turn the case over to a debt collection agency and let them go through the hassle of filing for the wage garnishment or whatever else it's going to take. They do it for a living and are extremely efficient about it. You don't get the full amount, but the opportunity cost may balance that out. If they can't get the money, you probably won't either. And you don't have to take off work to file, show up, track down addresses.

Edit: I had to check where you were located before I added this. I have a recommendation for one if it comes to that.

 

[G_Stines]

Winning don't mean that you will get paid. I won a case 10 yrs. ago and still haven't recieved a dime

It also depends on the judge. The judge that I had, ruled that they had 30 days to work out a payment plan of some sort, and that they would be required to place a copy of that, in writing, to the county clerk, and that she also informed them, that if they failed to initiate a plan, or keep to it, she would place a lien on the business and garnish the business income. She also told him his business practices were despicable. I remember that quite well. They never missed a payment.

 

[gdh]

In Lake County, IN my daughter had to take one of her boyfriends to small claims court because he back it to her car and did not want to pay for the damage. All she had to do was show up it court and present her case. She won the case and the court sent her a check for the amount of judgment. And the boyfriend had to pay the court.
Also before her case came to trial she was getting phone calls from the Judge Joe Brown show to appear on the show. She could not go on the show because she was just starting college at the time. This was 6 years ago.

 

[308jake]

I'd recommend selling the claim to a collection agency. They normally pay between 10-50% depending on how it fits their criteria.