Small Claims
Small Claims Court
Small Claims court is a special court where disputes are resolved quickly and inexpensively. Small Claims Court allows you to sue a person, business, or government agency you think owes you money. Generally, you can only sue for up to $12,500 in small claims court (or up to $6,250 if you’re a business). If you have a claim for more than this amount, you may file in the Civil Division or you may file in the Small Claims Court and give up your right to the amount over the limit.
If you win your case, you must collect the money, the Court does not do it for you. For more information, please refer to the California Courts Self-Help Guide on collecting your money.
Small Claims Advisor
The Butte County Public Law Library serves as the court’s Small Claims Advisor and can assist small claims litigants at no charge. The Public Law Library is located at 1675 Montgomery Street, Oroville, CA. More information about their services as well as their hours of operation can be found on their website at www.buttecountylawlibrary.org.
The Small Claims Advisor can provide you with information about small claims cases, including but not limited to:
- How to fill out forms;
- How to name the defendant;
- Where to file your forms;
- How to serve the other party;
- How to collect a judgment.
In accordance with Government Code 818.9, the court and its employees are not liable because of any advice provided to small claims court litigants or potential litigants as a public service on behalf of the court pursuant to the Small Claims Act.
Small Claims vs. Limited Civil
Reference the chart below for a summary of differences between small claims and limited civil cases
|
Difference |
Small Claims |
Limited Civil |
|---|---|---|
|
Lawyers |
Cannot have a lawyer represent you. |
Can have a lawyer represent you, but you must pay for the lawyer. A business entity, like a corporation, must have a lawyer. |
|
Initial Costs |
Filing fees are less, up to $100.00. If you are unable to pay the filing fee, you may qualify for a fee waiver. |
Filing fees start at $225.00. Depending on the case, there can be other out-of-pocket expenses. If you are unable to pay the filing fee, you may qualify for a fee waiver. |
|
How complicated the process is |
Rules and procedures are informal and simpler. |
Have to follow all rules and procedures required in "regular" civil cases. It can get very complicated and time-consuming. |
|
How long it takes to get a decision |
Case is decided quicker - generally within 3 months. |
Cases can take up to a year or longer to decide. |
|
Whether you can appeal |
A party cannot appeal their own claim. |
Either side can appeal. |
|
How many times you can sue in a year |
Cannot sue more than twice in one calendar year for over $2,500. |
No limit on the number of lawsuits in a year. |
|
If the court can award costs and fees |
If you win, the court can order the losing side to pay your court fees and costs. |
If you win, the court can order the losing side to pay your court fees and costs. But, if you filed a limited civil case when you could have filed in small claims court, the judge can decide not to order the losing side to pay for fees and costs. |
|
If you can serve a defendant outside California |
Have to be able to serve the defendant in California. |
Can serve a defendant outside of California. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Generally, you must be at least 18 years old to file a claim.
Before beginning your case, look at the information on the California Courts Self-Help Guide on checking you have a case for small claims. Once you have verified your case is right for small claims court you can go to the California Courts Self-Help Guide Start a small claims case for instructions and forms.
Claims for $1,500.00 or less have a filing fee of $30.00.
Claims from $1,500.01 to $5,000.00 have a filing fee of $50.00.
Claims from $5,000.01 to $12,500.00 have a filing fee of $75.00.
People or businesses who have filed more than 12 claims in California in the past 12 months have a filing fee of $100.00.
If you can’t afford the fee, your filing fees may be waived by asking the Court for a fee waiver.
In general, a natural person (an individual) cannot ask for more than $12,500 in a claim. Businesses and other entities (like government entities) cannot ask for more than $6,250. This limit on businesses does not apply to sole proprietors, who are treated as natural persons. You can file as many claims as you want for up to $2,500 each. But you can only file 2 claims in a calendar year that ask for more than $2,500. There are some exceptions to the $12,500 limit for individuals.
The deadline to file a lawsuit is called the statute of limitations. Most lawsuits MUST be filed within a certain amount of time. In general, once the statute of limitations on a case "runs out," the legal claim is not valid any longer. The period of time you have to sue someone varies depending on the type of legal claim.
Here are the statutes of limitations for some common types of legal disputes:
- If you are suing because you got hurt, you can file a claim for up to 2 years after you were hurt.
- If you are suing because a spoken agreement was broken, you have 2 years to file after the agreement was broken.
- If you are suing because a written agreement was broken, you have 4 years to file after the agreement was broken.
- If you are suing because your property was damaged, you have 3 years to file after your property was damaged.
- If you are suing because of fraud, you have 3 years to file after you find out about the fraud.
If you are suing a government or public agency, you usually have 6 months to file a claim with that agency. They have 45 days to make a decision. If no decision is made within 45 days, then the claim is considered denied. If they reject your claim, you have 6 months to file a claim with a small claims court. If you do not receive a rejection or acceptance of your claim in those 45 days, you may have more time to file your claim.
If you are the only owner of a business, you must go to court unless the claim can be proven by evidence of a business account that a regular employee with knowledge of that account can explain. The employee most knowledgeable about the account can go to court for the business.
If your business is a partnership, only 1 of the partners must go.
If the business is a corporation, an officer or director must go to court, or if the claim can be proved by evidence of business records, the employee most knowledgeable about the records can go. That person cannot be hired just to represent the corporation. And, that person cannot be the lawyer for the corporation.