Q RE: MO Small Claims Rules

[doni49]

I was looking through the MO bar's explanation of small claims court in Missouri and found the following information interesting.

I read the first quote as meaning that ONLY the actual OC can file--not a JDB. Correct?

You can only file a claim in small claims court against someone who owes you money; you may not file a claim against a person who owes someone else money. Furthermore, an assignee of a claim (i.e., a person or business that purchases or otherwise has the right to a claim) may not file in small claims court.

ANd the following says that a plaintiff can only file 12 claims per year. Does that mean that an OC will only be able to file against 12 debtors in MO per year?

You may file no more than twelve claims in small claims court in any calendar year.

Am I misreading this?

http://www.mobar.org/031c3dd8-17fe-4...19a7df3b9.aspx

TIA!

[treehugger1]

Interesting. You might want to call the local courthouse and ask a clerk. State that you have a procedural question and they might have an answer. The clerk will tell you if they can or cannot help you. My gut instinct is that you are correct in your interpretations. However, a jdb or other assignee might choose to sue you in a court above small claims. My sense is that this is generally the case.

[doni49]

However, a jdb or other assignee might choose to sue you in a court above small claims.

I thought that the very purpose of SCC was to make it so that people didn't need to hire a lawyer to deal with anything below the SCC threshold. Wouldn't that defeat the purpose of SCC?

[treehugger1]

In my state, the plaintiff does not have to sue in small claims if the amount qualifies. If they have an attorney, they must sue you in circuit court. I was sued for two accounts, both below the $7500 small claims amount. They had to sue in the greater court because attorneys are not allowed in our small claims. I thnk there may be some states where you can be sued by an attorney in small claims. I'm not sure.

[ryan]

I think there may be some states where you can be sued by an attorney in small claims. I'm not sure.

Illinois is one where attorneys can sue in small claims.