PMCW Law

Small claims court, as its name suggests, is the court specifically designated for individual people to pursue small claims. "Small claims" are cases where a party is seeking less than $5,000. This week, our Lake of the Ozarks lawyers are here to help you get a general understanding of the Missouri small claims court. What Is Small Claims Court? Small claims court is sometimes called "the people's court." It is the court designed for American citizens to be able to represent themselves. However, both the plaintiff and the defendant are allowed to retain attorneys if they would prefer to have professional representation. The small claims court may only be used to pursue financial claims valuing less than $5,000. It cannot be used to obtain property, real estate, or other assets. It may also not be used to evict tenants from property.  The small claims court is presided over by a judge. If a claim is brought to court, the judge will hear both the pla...

Default Judgments defined A default judgment is a  judgment in favor of the plaintiff based on the failure of the defendant to respond to a law suit or appear in court.  This failure to respond or appear results in the court awarding a default judgment.  The default judgment is relief that is requested by the plaintiff. In other words, if someone files a lawsuit or other legal action against you and you do not respond, you are essentially "forfeiting" the case.  In a civil trial involving damages, the court will likely give the person filing the action the amount they are looking for.  This can be bad for you in several ways: 1) A judgment against you will most likely affect your credit report, and not in a good way! 2) You can have your wages garnished, affecting your employment. 3) You can have your bank account garnished. 4) If you don't have the judgment paid immediately, it earns interest.  This interest can caus...

Small Claims Court may be an option for claims up to $5000 Small claims proceedings are more informal in nature, and are designed to allow small matters seeking the payment of money to be heard without the assistance of counsel, though you can hire a lawyer to represent you or your company.   You can only sue for money that you are owed, and your claim is limited to $5,000.00.   You are limited to filing 12 small claims cases in a calendar year.   If you are successful with your claim, the Court does not pay you any money.   It is still your responsibility to collect the judgment from the Defendant.      The chance to tell your story and present evidence A small claims proceeding is overseen by an Associate Circuit Judge, who will give the parties a chance to tell their side of the story and present any evidence they have.   Afterwards, the Judge will make a ruling.   A party unhappy with the court’s ruling may request a “tri...