Small Claims Court Legal Help

Small claims courts provide easy, quick and cheap avenue for resolving small disputes. As an individual you can use Small Claims Court if the claim is for $10,000 or less. If you are an individual who owns a business (i.e. sole proprietor) and do business under a fictitious business name, you are considered to be an "individual" in Small Claims Court. For example, if you are a plumber doing business as ABC Plumbing and want to sue a customer who has not paid you, you can file a claim for up to $10,000. If your business is a corporation, partnership or anything other than a sole proprietorship, your maximum claim amount is $5,000.

Even though attorney representation is not permitted in small claim courts, you may seek legal advise prior to filing a small claims case and attending the hearing.

Even though small claims courts offer simple rules, the basic rule remains the same as a case any other type of civil court; that is, as a plaintiff you have a burden of proving your case with preponderance of evidence. To prove your case to the satisfaction of the trier of facts (e.g., the judge), you need to prapare and plan methodically. However, unless you have sufficient legal knowledge of the elements of the underlying causes of action, you may not know what evidence should be presented, what statements to be made, what declarations to be proffered from third parties, what NOT to say and what NOT to present. Basically, we will help you layout your case to substantially increase your chances of winning.

Similarly, we can also help if you are defending against a small claims court suit.

We can help you with filing the complaint/answer, help you with preparing evidence and preparing for trial. If you win, we can also help you with bank levy, garnishment of wages, recording lien or otherwise collecting the judgement.

Call us to setup an appointment. Our office is conveniently located in Milpitas, near Great Mall and the following towns: Fremont, San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale and Campbell.

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