GENERAL INFORMATION

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS:   Click on a subject for a display of common questions.
Preliminary Considerations	Filing a Lawsuit	Service of Process
General information about small claims court procedure, and things to consider before filing a small claims case.	Information on different issues regarding filing a small claims case.	Procedure on serving the lawsuit papers after filing a small claims case.
Responding to a Lawsuit	The Trial	Judgment
Discussion of various issues after being served with small claims lawsuit papers.	General information on how to prepare for and present a case during a small claims trial.	Information on issues that typically arise after a small claims trial, including how to file an appeal.
Collecting a Judgment
Information and suggestions on how to collect on the small claims judgment.

PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS

What is small claims court?
What are parties?
Who can sue and who can be sued?
Can I sue the guardian of a minor child who injured me or my property?
Can someone represent me or the other party?
What can I sue for in small claims court?
How much will it cost me?
Can I get my costs back?
How long will it take to have my case heard?
Can I settle the case with the other side before the trial?
Can I file an appeal if I lose the case?

FILING A LAWSUIT

How long do I have to file my claim?
What can I do if my time to sue is running out shortly and I do not know the defendant's name or where the defendant can be located?
How long do I have to sue a government entity?
Where do I file my small claims lawsuit?
What happens if I filed in the wrong venue?
What do I file with the court?
What do I need to know to complete my lawsuit filing?
Do I need to provide any evidence to the court when I am filing the claim?
How do I name the defendant?
How can I find the name of the owner(s) of a business I am suing?
How do I find out the agent for service information for a corporate defendant?
How can I correctly name the defendant after I have filed?
How do I add another defendant?
I sued a wrong person; how can I take that defendant off my claim?

SERVICE OF PROCESS - GIVING NOTICE TO THE OTHER PARTY

What happens after I file my claim?
Why did the court give me so many copies of the claim?
Who can serve the lawsuit papers for me?
How can the defendant be served with my lawsuit papers?
Can the defendant be served by posting the lawsuit paper on his property or by publishing it in a newspaper?
My defendant is a corporation (or a limited partnership or a limited liability company); who can be served with the lawsuit papers?
I am suing a bank; who can be served with the lawsuit papers?
How soon must the defendant be served with legal process?
I need more time to serve my defendants; what should I do?
What do I do with the Proof of Service form?
Can I serve a defendant that resides outside of California?
What if I do not know where the defendant can be served?

RESPONDING TO A LAWSUIT

I just got served with the papers on a lawsuit against me; how do I respond?
Can I just pay the money, or return the property, to the plaintiff and not show up at the trial?
What can I do if I owe the money to the plaintiff but cannot pay at this time and the plaintiff refuses to settle informally?
I was served improperly or untimely; do I still have to show up in court?
How do I let the court know I am being sued in the wrong court (venue)?
What if the small claims court has no jurisdiction over me or the case?
What do I do if I need more time to prepare my case or figure out whether I should sue the plaintiff back?
How can I sue the plaintiff back for the money he owes me?
Do I have to file my countersuit in the same court?

THE TRIAL

What if I cannot appear at the scheduled date?
What can I do to prepare for the trial?
Can I get a statement from witnesses that cannot appear at trial?
How do I subpoena witnesses and documents?
Do I have to pay the witness I subpoena?
Who can serve a subpoena?
Can I subpoena private personal information like bank or employment records?
Can I have the subpoenaed information sent to me?
What should I do on the day of trial?
Who hears and decides my case?
Can I ask the other party questions?
Can I show a videotape in trial?
Do I have to file another lawsuit if I did not file or bring to trial a valid proof of service and the case was dropped?
What happens to the evidence I give to the court?
Is there a recording made of the trial?

JUDGMENT

How soon will I get a judgment?
What types of judgments are there?
What happens if I could not show up at the trial?
What can I do if I lose a case because I could not show up at the trial?
Is there anything I can do if my motion to vacate judgment was denied?
What do I do if the judgment is ambiguous or confusing?
I won but the defendant's name is spelled wrong; how can I correct it?
We both showed up at the trial and I lost; what can I do now?
What happens to my appeal after I file it?
Can I lose more on appeal than the original judgment amount?
Can I add another party or ask for more money when the defendant files an appeal?
Can I postpone the appeals hearing?
Can an attorney represent me on the appeal?
Is there anything else I can do after losing on appeal?

COLLECTING A JUDGMENT

I won the judgment, how soon can I start collecting against the other party?
What if the debtor or her assets are in another state?
How do I enforce a judgment from another state against a debtor who lives here?
What options do I have after losing a judgment?
Can I get back the money I spent trying to collect the judgment from the debtor?
Does my judgment collect interest?
How long is a judgment good for?
How do I make a judgment debtor pay if she will not pay voluntarily?
How can I prevent my bank account from being levied or my wages from being garnished?
How can I respond to the judgment debtor's claim of exemption?
Do I have to do anything else after the debtor pays the judgment in full?
What should I do if I satisfied the judgment in full but the judgment creditor refuses to file an acknowledgment of satisfaction of judgment?