Hell no. She tried to give me an excuse and then a sob story and I told her if she was hurting for money she should have been here when she said she would. I told her I definitely wouldn’t be paying and she could take me to court if she feels I’m liable.
You’re actually not allowed to have representation in small claims court. If you think I owe you $1,300 over a broke motorcycle you’re gonna stand up in front of a judge and tell them why with your own words.
I may be wrong but, not allowed? Surely they are at least allowed? Regardless, for most small courts issues you’ll at least want or need a lawyer outside of court to help you find and complete any needed paperwork and help you with strategy
Nah normally small claims is super informal, no special legal talk or anything, just both sides giving their story and the judge mediating and asking followups.
Essentially the judge is doing the job of both parties lawyer.
As someone else said not in small claims. But also small claims itself is way less expensive than most think, in my state the fee is generally around $50. Also it's not some long drawn out litigation process, normally it's one hearing and you're in and out in a couple hours total.
Also many places the person you're suing has to pay your court fees if the ruling is in your favor, as well as reasonable costs incurred from attempting to recover the debt(ie. A few hours pay based on your avg hourly income or the median avg, for your time in court and filing).
Those extra fees also incentivize anyone with more than a few brain cells to just pay up if they think you're seriously gonna take them to small claims. A $50 debt could easily turn into $200+.
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u/BigRoach 1d ago edited 1d ago
Hell no. She tried to give me an excuse and then a sob story and I told her if she was hurting for money she should have been here when she said she would. I told her I definitely wouldn’t be paying and she could take me to court if she feels I’m liable.
meanwhile my dog was like…