AdvancingSmartly

Your Rights
Energy Assistance Program
New Utilities Deregulation
Electric Industry in Michigan
Natural Gas Industry in Michigan
Be a smart customer in the deregulated market

Small Claims Court is a division of District Court, designed for people to get a speedy informal trial without the expense of hiring lawyers.  Small Claims Court is not available for every kind of case.  To use Small Claims Court, keep this in mind:

 

• The remedy you can receive is limited to money, and only up to $3,000.  If you need an injunction to stop someone or something from happening, Small Claims Court won't work.  Certain kinds of cases cannot be brought in Small Claims Court: libel, slander, fraud, assault, battery or other intentional torts, and claims against a government agency.

• You can sue the other party where the wrongful act complained of occurred rather than where the other party resides or does business.

• Both sides to the case must agree to the limits of Small Claims Court: no lawyers, no jury trial, maximum judgment of $3,000, and no right to appeal.  Either side can request the case be removed to District Court.

• The judgment decision cannot be appealed to a higher court.  (A small exception is made for cases heard by a magistrate instead of the judge.  Although not technically an appeal, you can have the matter reheard by a District Judge.)

• The judgment in the case is good for 6 years, instead of the 10 years permitted for other courts’ judgments.

• Anyone who is sued in Small Claims Court has the right to remove the suit to the regular District Court.  This is often done to preserve one’s right to a jury trial or appeal.  But if you sue a business their lawyer often removes the action, forcing you to get a lawyer too.  If the amount you are seeking is nominal, it is not worth hiring a lawyer and you may be forced to dismiss the case.

 

Filing in Small Claims Court is cheaper than in other courts. The fee for filing a Small Claims Court action is $65.00 if the amount in controversy is more than $1,750.  The fee is graduated and less for smaller amounts.  If you win, your costs can be added to your judgment.

You are your own lawyer in Small Claims Court.  You need to prepare your case and yourself before going to the hearing.  It helps to go and watch other people handle a case in Small Claims Court if you have never been there before.  You will learn the kinds of information that best impresses and persuades the judge.  Use this experience to pull your case together before you go to court yourself.  Have pictures taken of the damage to your car, the leaking ceiling, the cracking drywall, etc.  If there is a third party who was with you when the contractor promised to finish the job in a week, line them up as a witness who can state what they heard the contractor say.  If you needed to make 12 long distance phone calls to a contractor in an unsuccessful attempt to get the job finished, make copies of the phone bills documenting when the calls were made.  In preparing your case, stick to facts, and try to keep personalities and emotions out of it as much as possible.  To provide evidence of the amount of your damages, get written estimates from at least two sources setting out what they would charge to correct the situation.  Importantly, keep your facts relevant to the case and try to present them succinctly.

[Back to Top]

An alternative to using the court system for your problem is Community Dispute Resolution.  There are several advantages: it is inexpensive, quick and low-key.  It is also convenient — mediation sessions can be held on Saturdays or evenings, and often effective — about 80% of all mediations end in agreement.  Mediation centers exist for all regions of the state; to access the one for your area you can call (800) 873-7658.  A worker will explain the procedure and contact the other side for you.  If they agree to participate, a session is quickly scheduled when two trained mediators will hear the dispute and work with both parties to reach an agreement.  If you try mediation but do not reach an agreement you can still go to court.  If you reach an agreement it can be enforceable in a court.

 

[Back to Top]

Hiring a Lawyer

If you wish to recover more than the Small Claims Court allows ($3,000) and Community Dispute Resolution doesn’t sound appropriate for you, you should consider employing a lawyer.  Although it is possible to represent yourself in a legal matter, it is complicated and risky.  The smart move is to hire a lawyer.  In some situations it is not always easy to find the right lawyer for your legal matter.  In general, rather than the greatest skill, or the most reasonable fee, trust seems to be the most important ingredient of a successful attorney-client relationship.  Be wary of lawyers you find out about through heavy advertising.  Effective lawyers have never had to advertise; the results they obtained and their clients’ endorsements have kept them busy.  Any lawyer you speak with will need information from you but you need to do a certain amount of "interviewing" as well — ask lots of questions and use your common sense in evaluating the lawyer’s answers.  A helpful strategy is to ask the same questions of a lawyer that you might ask of a mechanic about the repair of your car:

• How bad is the problem?

• How soon must I do something?

• What are my options?

• Have you done this before?

• How much will it cost?

• Who will do the work?

• When can you start?

 

The best way to find a lawyer (if you do not already have a satisfactory one) is to talk to your friends, acquaintances and relatives for a referral.  If someone whose judgment you trust gives you the name of a lawyer, chances are the lawyer will be a good choice for you.  Some counties in Michigan have their own Bar Association Referral Service and these are worth trying.  For counties that do not have such a service, the State Bar of Michigan operates a statewide referral service, reachable by calling (800) 968-0738.  They will be able to tell you if your county has its own referral service, and if not, likely give you the name and number of an attorney in your area that handles your kind of case.  Because any lawyer may choose to be listed with this service it is not an endorsement by the State Bar of the quality of the lawyer.  The Legal Hotline for Michigan Seniors may, in some circumstances, be able to help you find a lawyer.  Additionally, all regions of the state are served by what are called "Title 3B," or "legal services" lawyers; funded by the federal government, they provide free legal services to senior citizens.  They do not take cases in which a person is suing for damages, or criminal matters, but do assist seniors in a wide variety of other legal matters.  A complete list of these offices is contained in the Appendix at the end of this Handbook.

If you need a lawyer to handle a special kind of case it is worth checking the State Bar of Michigan Directory which is published annually; it has a special section listing certain lawyers by Field of Practice.  Also, a lawyer’s newspaper, the Michigan Lawyer’s Weekly, carries a number of classified ads for these special kinds of attorneys.  Some libraries, and all law libraries, include these publications in their collections.

 

(For assistance on these and other Consumer Issues, contact the Legal Hotline for Michigan Seniors at (800) 347-5297.  More resources are also located in the Resource Section of this website.)

 

[Back to Top]