Are you thinking about filing a case in small claims court?
The purpose of small claims court is to handle simple cases quickly and inexpensively. The rules are simpler and court hearings are informal. You can bring the case yourself or you can use an attorney if you wish. In this post I link you to several local small claims court web sites and to 2 useful brochures on how to bring a case in small claims court.
Before heading off to you local court house, take some time to read two very useful brochures and a section in the Ohio Revised Code about Ohio Small Claims Court in Ohio.
1. Ohio Small Claims Court, by the Consumer Protection Section of the Ohio Attorney General. This pamphlet is about six pages long with brief descriptions on what types of disputes can be resolved in small claims court and how much money damages you can claim.
2. Small Claims Court: A Citizens Guide, by the Ohio Judicial Conference in cooperation with the Ohio State Bar Foundation. This 25 page booklet is more in depth and presents an overview of the rules and procedures for small claims court. Pay particular attention to the type of claims that can be brought in small claims court and there is even a section explaining what to do if you are being sued by someone else in small claims court.
3. Representing Yourself in Court: Small Claims, by Ohio Legal Serives. A 3 page web page in a question and answer format.
4. The Ohio Revised Code has an entire section on small claims court that you should also review, 19 R.C. §1925. This section of the R.C. is about 7 pages long.
Where is your Small Claims Court?
In Summit County there are three small claims courts. You must file in the correct court so pay attention to the court's jurisdiction description below.
If you are considering bringing a case in small claims court, be prepared to read the entire local rules of court for your local court. There is usually a link to these rules on the court's main web page. The court rules I listed below, deal specifically with the small claims court division, but sometimes the small claims court is mentioned elsewhere in the court rules.
After reading the material on the court's web site, make sure to call the court for more information on how to proceed.
Jurisdiction: The Akron Municipal Court serves Akron, Richfield, Bath, Fairlawn, Mogadore, Lakemore, Springfield.
Court Forms: The site has one small claims court form.
Court Rules: Claims filed in the Small Claims Division are scheduled for a mandatory mediation hearing. Make sure to read rules 34 through 37 in the local rules of court for more information.
Phone: 330-375-2285
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2. Barberton Small Claims Court instructions
Court Forms: Barberton has an excellent small claims court web site with detailed instructions and links to forms embedded in the web page. The site includes hints on how to present your best case in small claims court and how to go about collecting your judgment if you win.
Court Rules: General rules and informative introduction here.
Phone: 330-861-7192
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3. Stow Municipal Court District
Jurisdiction: Includes these communities: Boston Heights, Boston Twp., Cuyahoga Falls, Hudson, Macedonia, Munroe Falls, Northfield, Peninsula, Reminderville, Sagamore Hills, Silver Lake, Stow, Tallmadge, Twinsburg.
Court Forms: This site has two forms to use in small claims court (a praecipe and a complaint form).
Court Rules: Make sure to read Rules 35-36 of the Stow Municipal Court Rules.
Phone: 330-564-4200
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For questions and assistance, please call the phone numbers listed above. Be kind to the courthouse staff! Remember, only licensed attorneys can give you legal advice based on the facts of your case. Court personnel can only answer general questions. Anything beyond that will get them in trouble with the "unauthorized practice of law" rules.
Links to other court web sites in Ohio are here.
I use delicious (the social bookmarking site) to collect and save all links listed in my Akron Law Café postings. To date there are 99 links collected since my first postings in February. The bookmark list works best if sorted alphabetically by title.
