Contents

Lesson 1. Purpose and Roles

• §1.01 Purpose of Small Claims Court
• §1.02 Your Role as Judge
• §1.03 Role of Clerk
• §1.04 Role of Small Claims Advisors
• §1.05 Review

Lesson 2. Filing and Service

• §2.01 Claim Filed
• §2.02 Parties
• §2.03 Assignees
• §2.04 Joinder of Plaintiffs
• §2.05 Plaintiff’s Fictitious Business Name
• §2.06 Fees
• §2.07 Hearing Date and Order to Appear
• §2.08 Methods of Service
• §2.09 Service on Corporation or Entity
• §2.10 Where Service Made
• §2.11 Time for and Proof of Service
• §2.12 Defendant Fails to Appear
• §2.13 Review

Lesson 3. Jurisdiction and Venue

• §3.01 Claims Up to $5000 or $7500
• §3.02 Permissive Joinder of Claims
• §3.03 Splitting Cause of Action Prohibited
• §3.04 Waiver of Excess
• §3.05 Limit of Two Claims Over $2500
• §3.06 Actions Against Landlords
• §3.07 Jurisdiction Over Miscellaneous Actions
• §3.08 Venue
• §3.09 Venue in Consumer Actions
• §3.10 Challenge to Venue
• §3.11 Review

Lesson 4. Other Pretrial Matters

• §4.01 Defendant’s Claim
• §4.02 Service of Defendant’s Claim
• §4.03 No Compulsory Cross-Claims
• §4.04 Request to Transfer Action
• §4.05 Ruling on Request to Transfer
• §4.06 Fees and Costs After Transfer
• §4.07 Consolidation, Severance, and Coordination
• §4.08 Amendment to Claim
• §4.09 Pretrial Requests for Orders
• §4.10 No Attachment or Formal Discovery
• §4.11 Postponing Hearing
• §4.12 Dismissal
• §4.13 Review

 Lesson 5. Conducting the Hearing

• §5.01 Informal Nature of Hearing
• §5.02 Temporary Judge—Appointment
• §5.03 —Stipulation and Disclosures
• §5.04 Disqualification
• §5.05 Attorney Participation
• §5.06 Appearances by Other Individuals
• §5.07 Representative’s Declaration
• §5.08 Husband and Wife
• §5.09 Fictitious Business Names
• §5.10 Conditional Actions
• §5.11 Providing Interpreters and Other Assistants
• §5.12 Providing Accommodations for Persons With Disabilities
• §5.13 Preliminary Instructions
• §5.14 Calling the Calendar
• §5.15 The Hearing
• §5.16 Evidence
• §5.17 Review

Lesson 6. Entering Judgment

• §6.01 Default Judgment
• §6.02 Damages and Equitable Relief
• §6.03 Rescission
• §6.04 Restitution and Reformation
• §6.05 Reaching a Decision
• §6.06 Separate or Several Judgment
• §6.07 Conditional Judgment
• §6.08 Installment Payments
• §6.09 Costs
• §6.10 Interest
• §6.11 Announcing the Decision
• §6.12 Entry of Judgment
• §6.13 Requests for Orders After Judgment
• §6.14 Res Judicata
• §6.15 Review

Lesson 7. Postjudgment Proceedings

• §7.01 Motion to Vacate—By Nonappearing Party
• §7.02 —By Improperly Served Defendant
• §7.03 —Appeal of Denial
• §7.04 Motion to Correct or Vacate Error
• §7.05 Appeal and Trial de Novo
• §7.06 Notice of Appeal
• §7.07 Procedure on Appeal
• §7.08 Attorney Fees and Expenses
• §7.09 Judgment Stayed Pending Appeal
• §7.10 Enforcement of Judgment
• §7.11 Asset Questionnaire
• §7.12 Statement of Assets and Examination
• §7.13 Satisfaction of Judgment
• §7.14 Payment to Court
• §7.15 Suspension of Driving Privilege
• §7.16 Review

Evaluation

Resources

• Substantive Law Training Topics
  
  Job Aids [PDF]
• Jurisdiction and Venue Checklist
• Judicial Ethics Canons
• Grounds for Disqualification
• Who May Appear
• Sample Opening Instructions
• Default Judgment Checklist
• Statement of Decision or Taking Under Submission

Publications

Web Links