Debt and Small Claims

[treehugger1]

I'm starting this thread because I have several "alleged" debts that could qualify for small claims (under $7500) in my state.

With the exception of 3 large accounts, the remainder of my current unpaid accounts are under the small claims limit. This means it is relatively cheap for the plaintiff to file. I did have local creditors move quite quickly to small claims and these accounts have been satisfied through mediation or judgment (including wage garnishment.)

Why is it that other large national companies do not make use of local small claims courts?

I'm not sure how the small claims process in my state relates to "attorney fees." Is it possible that in small claims, if the plaintiff adds unecessary "fees" that the judge will ignore these and consider the actual debt amount and only reasonable recovery fees?

In Oregon, every small claims debtor has the right to request a small claims mediation. If agreement cannot be reached, then a future date is set for a hearing with a judge. Does the cost of having to make 2-3 trips to my local courthouse potentially prohibit the underlying revenue/cost algorithm used by the major CA legal firms?

Is it possible that an attorney representing a national creditor might sue in a larger district state court but then have the venue forced into small claims under state laws? In such a matter, the presiding court officer might not be as free with tacking on additional "fees" asked for by the plaintiff.

I'm just asking these questions. You don't need to be a brain surgeon in my state to file a small claims. Why on earth don't national creditors/CA's go the small claims route. Any ideas?

[lrprn]

I would say the big boys don't use small claims court because it isn't profitable for them in the long run. Maximizing profit is the ultimate driver for everything they do.

[wickedlate]

So are you saying a creditor like Chase will not go after $3000 in small claims?

I have in-laws that stopped paying their CC's over 2 years ago and have not been sued by anyone yet. Do you think they will get sued if the highest limit card is 3k?

[2Bshinyandnew]

So are you saying a creditor like Chase will not go after $3000 in small claims?

Except Chase. When it comes to the law, collections, debt, etc. there will always be an exception. There is never an exception to there not being an exception

I have in-laws that stopped paying their CC's over 2 years ago and have not been sued by anyone yet. Do you think they will get sued if the highest limit card is 3k?

Just my personal observation reading here on the board, Chase is likely to sue in small claims court, the other biggies, Discover, Citi, etc. not so much.

I checked my county docket for all the creditors I have, Chase Bank NA, Bank of America/FIA Card Services/MBNA, Capitol One, Citibank, etc. for any docket activity in small claims as well as county civil (the next step up in my state's court system <$5000) and except for Chase, who seemed to sue a lot in my county, there weren't many where for instance BOA was a plaintiff in a small claims action.

Use your county's online docket search using "party name" and any helpful filters like phonetic search or wildcard or partial name. This can give you a good idea of who is suing whom in your county.

[treehugger1]

BB, Thinking about your comments, they are probably correct. An attorney might as well go directly to district court here. They are rolling the dice that the defendant will not answer. On the other side of this is that if you do answer, you have now set the state mandatory arbitration process in motion for civil litigation below $50K.

Small claims costs to defendant here are reasonable to file for a hearing/mediation, but answering a general civil summons is close to $200.00. I'll probably have to make that decision someday, but in the meantime, I'll sit on the didelines and wait.

I like the idea of searching the county database by plaintiff. I'll have to give this a try and see what pops up. Unfortunately, we do not have an online system in my small rural county. But, I can make a trip down to the courthouse as I think they have a public computer available that is plugged into their system.