Is Taking Your Car Accident Case to Small Claims Court Right For You?
Small claims court may be the best way to solve your car accident claim. Small claims court is an alternative dispute resolution for many small claims matters, including car accidents. If an insurance company fails to offer what you think is a fair settlement, small claims court may be a viable option for you as long as the amount you wish to recover is within your state’s dollar limit of small claims court. Is it hard to file a case in small claims court? It is not difficult at all to file a small claims court case. You typically need to fill in a form from the Court Clerk (you may be able to obtain it online as well) and pay a small filing fee. If you win the case, the other driver may be required to pay the fee back. After that, you need to have court papers delivered to the person you are filing against by service of process. You can even hire a local constable or sheriff to do the service for you for a fee. How to Win Every car accident case addresses two things: liability (who caused the accident) and damages (what damages occurred as a result of the accident). To win a case you must prove liability and damages you have incurred. If you are able to prove a liability to the court but are unable to provide proof of damages, you will not be awarded anything. It is imperative that you have evidence prepared to prove both damages and liability. You will need to testify and may be asked to call other people as witnesses if you know of anyone who saw the accident. If no other witnesses were present, you will need to be ready to show your version of how the accident happened, explaining in as much detail as possible. You will need to include parts of the vehicle which were damaged, where the impact occurred on the roadway and so on. If you have photographs, these will be helpful to your case. What happens if you win? Should you win, the other driver will have to pay the judgment. In most cases, if the driver had insurance, their insurance company will pay it. If the other driver does not have insurance, in some cases you may have trouble collecting the judgment and the court may have to help you collect it. Have you been involved in an accident and wish to seek restitution? We can...
Read MoreTips for Renting Out Your Own Home
Avoid Headaches and Maximize Financial Return with These Simple Tips! Whether you plan on subletting or making your entire property available, renting out your home is a good way of covering mortgage costs while sometimes making a bit of profit to boot. It is ideal for people who own multiple properties or who are traveling but may be done in other circumstances, as well. Renting does come with a few risks and downsides, however. As we have witnessed many times here at Ace Small Claims, financial disputes between tenants and landlords are not uncommon. Here are a few simple steps you should take before renting in order to avoid headaches. Prepare meticulously. Try to anticipate any potential repair or maintenance complaints that a tenant might have and solve them before renting out your space. Once you have tenants, any repair issues that arise will need to be treated on an urgent timeline, which is always more expensive. Preemptively solving problems will also help foster tenant satisfaction, which is always a good thing. Vet your tenants. A bad tenant can be a nightmare; failing to pay rent, bothering neighbors, damaging your property, and eventually ending up fighting with you in small claims court. That is why we recommend thoroughly vetting all potential tenants through applications, background checks, interviews, credit checks, and personal references. Establish clear expectations. From uniform payment schedules to a written renter’s policy, establishing a clear set of expectations will help you avoid problems with your tenant, while also offering you documentation that will prove invaluable in the event of a dispute. Should you end up suing your tenant in small claims court due to their disregard for a rule such as occupancy limits, for example, showing a rules agreement signed by the tenants themselves all but ensures your success in...
Read MoreSkip Tracing for Small Claims
Are you owed money? Is the person or party responsible for this debt making themselves impossible to contact or even locate? If you answered yes to both of these questions, then skip tracing services could be right for you. Here at Ace Small Claims, skip tracing is one of the many services we offer for individuals and businesses trying to collect money that rightfully belongs to them. Read on to learn more about skip tracing for small claims: What is skip tracing? Skip tracing refers to the process of tracking down and contacting a person who is deliberately making themselves difficult to find. The term originates from the phrase ´to skip town,´ as this is precisely the strategy that many unscrupulous debtors use in an attempt to avoid making payments. What strategies do skip tracers rely on? Skip tracers are experts in tracking down public records and making accurate extrapolations from that data. Should this prove unsuccessful, skip tracers may locate and then interview acquaintances of the person in question, in a process known as social engineering. Is skip tracing permitted in my legal district? Skip tracing is legal across the US — however, specifical state and local regulations may dictate which methods may and may not be used. This is why hiring a profession is usually wiser than attempting to trace a skip on your own. Why are skip tracers hired? In most cases, money is involved. Perhaps you have a small claims case against your skip and they are avoiding making a court appearance. (If they are smart, they will avoid service of process altogether, thus minimizing their liability in the case!) In other circumstances, people skip town after losing a small claims case in order to avoid making payments. Want to learn more about skip tracing and other important small claims issues? Visit Ace Small Claims online...
Read More5 Tips for Success as a Plaintiff in Small Claims Court
Improve your odds of success in virtually any Small Claims Court case! Small claims court — a process with no lawyers, juries, or complex legal standards — is designed for simplicity. Nonetheless, it can be quite stressful for plaintiffs who are anxious to be paid money that they are rightfully owed. Below, you will find five highly effective tips that should help to simplify the process: 1. Show the Defendant You Mean Business. Filing a small claims case allows you to avoid many expenses associated with civil court — but bypassing the hassle and cost of court all together is clearly a superior option. Many times, communicating with your client clearly and firmly is enough to pressure them into making the payment that they owe you. Sending a well-written demand letter is an excellent way of achieving this. 2. Know the Monetary Limits for Small Claims. If taking the case to court is unavoidable, then understanding the rules of small claims is crucial. These guidelines can help you determine whether your case does indeed belong in small claims court and not a superior court. 3. Take Company Record Keeping Seriously. The most common counterargument that defendants utilize to justify the fact that they are not paying up? They claim that your services were not rendered as agreed upon beforehand. Meticulous company record keeping (and a photographic record of your finished work, when possible) is the best defense against such attacks. 4. Identify Potential Witnesses. Anyone who may be able to testify on your behalf should be issued a subpoena in order to ensure that they appear in court. Remember that witnesses must be relevant to the case in question — your brother coming in to say that you are an honest person won’t help much, but a former employee who helped you renovate the defendant’s kitchen probably will. 5. Practice Proper Courtroom Etiquette. Keep a general air of seriousness, dress well, speak formally, don’t interrupt anyone, refer to relevant parties with their last name, and refer to the judge as “your Honor.” For more practical small claims advice, visit Ace Small Claims online...
Read MoreFiling a Counterclaim in a Small Claims Court
How to do it right and get what you deserve. If someone tries to sue you in a small claims court, it is crucial that you evaluate if you ought to file a counterclaim against them. What you sue for in your counterclaim can offset the original amount the plaintiff is suing you for. A counterclaim can relate to the same dilemma of the case or a separate matter. However, if you are suing for a different matter you do not have to file a counterclaim. Filing a counterclaim can be important in a case, especially when your argument relates to the same matter that the plaintiff is suing you for. If you don’t file a counterclaim in this situation you could lose your right to sue the plaintiff about that matter in the future. Your counterclaim must be below $10,000. Everything above that will be given up. The judge can give you the amount you ask for or less. You cannot get more than what you ask for. Ordinarily, you must file the counterclaim about 21 days after you receive your summons to court. This time frame can change depending on your location. If you don’t have enough time to file the complaint before the period ends, you may file a motion with the court and ask for some extra time. You can obtain a counterclaim form from your state’s standardized counterclaim form. There will be a fee for the form, but the price will vary depending on the court. After carefully filling out your counterclaim give your form to the clerk of courts. If you feel that you need to file a counterclaim, do it. Make sure you fill it out correctly and include as many specific details and facts as you can. As mentioned previously, it is imperative that you turn the form into the correct location and within the time frame given to you. For help with any matter related to small claims, Ace Small Claims is here to help. Take a look at our website to see what we can do for...
Read MoreHow Small Claims Court Judgments Affect Your Credit
Some of the things that are included in your credit report are small claims court judgments against you. Information on civil judgments can be collected by credit bureaus and may have significant negative effects on your credit report. The judgments may remain in your credit report for up to seven years after the judgment and not the date of the debt. Public Information Courts are not generally required to report small claims judgments to credit bureaus. However, civil judgments are considered public documents that can be accessed by individuals or organizations. Credit bureaus usually assemble data on small claims on their own. Unfortunately, debtors must update their records to prove that their debts were paid. Although a paid judgment still has negative effects on your credit report, it is much better than an unpaid one. Credit Report Damage Small claims judgments have multiple negative effects on credit reports. Civil judgments can have some of the worst negative effects on your credit file. In addition, the effects of a civil judgment can be more damaging if the lawsuit and judgment was the result of a delinquent credit account. If the debtor does not appear at trial date, the court would enter a default judgment on the debtor’s records. Default judgments have the worst negative effects on your credit because they give the impression that you did not even bother to attend a trial. Statute of Limitations Statutes of limitations play important roles in small claims actions, or even the avoidance of such claims. Unfortunately, statutes of limitations can be quite long ranging from 12 to 20 years. In some cases, the SOL can even be renewed restarting the clock all over again. It is important to research the statute of limitations for your state, especially when sued for an old debt. If your suit is initiated after the expiry date, you can inform the court and have the case...
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