Small Claims Court Books

Well-laid out topics, suggestions and hints to avoid putting yourself in
a precarious situation. The book covers almost everything that you
can possibly think of.

I have used it and it works. It is straight to the point no nonsense approach. I won the case and did get my money back. It instructed my step by step, how to make a demand, file a claim, and serve the papers, how to prepare and act in court. Than how to collect a judgement, how to put the lien. What to do and when not to. Also commons sense advise when not to file. Power to the people, justice for all, without an attorney taking half of what is yours

If you are reading this review, you are most probably a prospective plaintiff considering recovering losses you incurred in an auto accident through the small claims court process. This guide will help you tremendously. The NoLo series is an incredible service to mankind. It is the equivalent to the Dummies series focused on the Law. And, who besides expensive lawyers really understand the Law? Readers who have studied NoLo books!

The book is very well organized. Even though there is a lot of material, it is easy to extract the information pertaining to your very specific situation. The author covers a lot of those; as he dedicates specific chapters to auto repairs, auto accidents, lord-tenant dispute, etc... The author states that he covers the main type of cases that account for 99% of the cases tried in small claim courts. I believe him. If your case is outside those presented, there is a good chance it does not belong in small claims court.

The author gives crucial information about the basics of small claim courts. If you are not a lawyer, you are unfamiliar with all the procedures associated with it. Thanks to this book, you will know exactly what to do and when to file, prepare, and try a claim in small claims court. Once you have done the studying and the preparing it is not all that difficult. And, this book allows you to navigate through a bureaucratic process that would appear overwhelming and Byzantine otherwise.

This is my second NoLo book and hopefully the last. Who wants to deal with the Law if you don't have to? My first one was on how to fight a ticket. Thanks to NoLo, I reduced the price of my ticket by $120. Now, I anticipate recovering the cost of a fender bender where I am dealing with one uninsured and one unwilling party. It is not fun, but those NoLo books allow you to uphold your rights when you have to.

If you have a claim involving $5,000 or less, you can easily and inexpensively bring an action in Small Claims Court. But even though Small Claims Court is designed for non-attorneys (in fact, attorneys are not allowed) you still must have a basic understanding of the rules of evidence and know how to put on your case. Invest a little time to read this book, and you will stand a much better chance of winning.

If you want to make less mistakes, save time and money, it's best to start with this book so you can get the correct service, venue, and evidence organized to file and win. I found the chapter on how to write a demand letter and settle your claim before it gets to court very helpful. They even offer sample letters you use to settle your case. Nolo Press seems to put together the best legal self help books.

This readable guide provides step-by-step background and instructions for the small claims process. It explains what cases are and are not appropriate for small claims court, in which county to file, how to file, how to prepare for the trial, what happens at the trial, and how to collect a judgement. The book provides guidance to both plaintifs and defendants.

Hats off to Justice Brewer. I read his book and followed his step-by-step instructions and successfully won a small claims suit against a major insurance company. Their attorney complimented me on my legal finesse, and the judge awarded me a large settlement.

Ignore my rating because I did not read the book, I thought a fair rating wouldn't tip the scales too much. In any case, I came to check it out because of the writer (Rothstein) appearing on People's Court. He did win in spite of himself and lack of preparation. What an odd character he is with the bowtie and mannerisms!

HOW TO PURCHASE THIS BOOK NEW: Small Claims Court Step by Step (ISBN # 0-7641-9157-8) is published by Barron's Educational series. HOWEVER, this book CANNOT be ordered directly from Barron's. It is listed in their catalogue under the heading "Legal-Ease Series" and is a print-on demand (POD) book i.e, it is stored electronically and printed one at time as ordered by individuals, booksellers, and librarians. You must purchase it through any bookstore (Amazon?) or library that places special orders with INGRAM Book Company, parent company of Lightning Source Inc.

Re: Review of my book dated January 27, 2005 by Werner Cohn (See below.):
I was amused and delighted by your *** star review of my book Small Claims Court which lo a review I discovered for the first time last night, Christmas eve 2005. So first of all I want to sincerely thank you just for reviewing the book in the first place. If everybody started with my book as you recommend (which is a mighty nice thing to say) I would rejoice to share even a sliver of the limelight with David Seigel ("NY Law Practice")......My book sold about 7 thousand copies so your review did not "kill it with faint praise", and as I said before, I am grateful that any reviewer found it worthwhile to review at all. :-)......I recently placed the following note in "SITE ADDITIONS" on my website, December 14, 2005: When I wrote my book on Small Claims Court it was intended to help doctors collect fees from patients. I knew the book was really a success, and I had done my job well, when lay people began writing me to tell me how they used the book to win AND COLLECT from anybody and everybody. Over the years the small claims court has been very useful to me, and I would encourage others to use it when the appropriate circumstances warrant it. The outcome of a Small Claims Court hearing can hold many surprises, some totally unexpected: Tell me about the surprises: http://drted.com/index.html.bak2/scenario.htm I prepared a guide for those of you who have the courage to use this very useful court. See the Guide: http://drted.com/index.html.bak2/SccGuides.htm ......My book was edited by three lawyers and reponsible staff at the largest small claims court in the world (Brooklyn,NY), the one on which the book is largely based. It was based on my experiences of going to court about 125 times in order to collect fees that accumulated as a result of an inverse relation between my managerial skills and my doctor skills. :-( ...... You neglected to point out some its better qualities:...... It was clearly stripped of legal jargon and spoken in words clearly written to avoid intimidating the lay public. ......I presented the forms currently in use and HOW TO COMPLETE THEM. ......Moreover, I emphasized the various strategies I used regarding HOW TO collect using your judgement, i.e, who you actually can call or write. No theory at all is found in this book. Originally it was titles "WIN AND COLLECT IN SCC" It is meant to reduce the SCC process to its barest essentials so that ordinary people could easily navigate the court of the people, of which I am definitely one.......But, what is most important and completely lacking in Siegel's book, and the tour de force of mine is the "SURPRISES" (see above), i.e., the twist and turns that may occur before and during the hearing and even after you obtain the judgement (AND HOW TO DEAL WITH THEM). IN NO OTHER BOOK IS THIS INFORMATION PROVIDED......The check list (navigational guide to the SCC) for using the SCC has been a big help to some folks I am told. I wrote it for the website......As for the index, it was revised and completed by none other than Barron's the publisher. You found "Information Subpoena" on page 254, however just below that entry You missed the entry " Information Subpoena and Rest. 74-75, 78-79. .....I forgive you......I'm sure you are busy man and have little time to rewrite the review of my now out-of-date book (SCC maximum is $5,000; it was $3,000 when I write the book, so I'm doing it here for you. By the way are you aware that on Jan 8. 2006 the cost for a stamp goes form 37 cents to 39 cents?......With all due respect to David nowhere in the text of my book did I mention Chapter 21 of Siegel's book although I did reference his book in my bibliography.....Sincerest best wishes for a health and happy new year. Sincerely, Ted Rothstein, DDS, PhD......Specialist in Orthodontics for Adults and Children ......www.drted.com ...... December 25, 2005

MY BOOK ALAS IS OUT OF PRINT BUT AVAILABLE ON DEMAND, March 16, 2001
Reviewer: Dr.Ted Rothstein (Brooklyn, NY)
Dear would-be readers of Barrons's Legal-Ease Small Claims Court Step By Step. All 6000? 8000? copies of the book were sold, but that was not sufficient incentive for Barron's to print another "hard cover" run. However, THE GOOD NEWS IS that the book is available in the "electronic" edition, and can be printed on-demand. We thank all of you who purchased the book with a SPECIAL THANKS to those of you who wrote such nice reviews. PS. I am an Orthodontist and as such you can reach me at 718 852 1551.

I just saw him on The Peoples Court he was awful. He kept interrupting, the judge had to tell him to be quite and she corrected him several times. How can a stuttering, bad suit wearing, bumbling man write a book about what he can barely do? I'd say get your book somewhere else.

Dr. Rothstein's book is informative and like a cliff's notes for the small claims court process. If you need a quick reference to help yourself prepare for court this book will do just fine. After seeing Dr. Rothstein, an orthodontist, sue a patient today on The People's Court it is clear that he came unprepared. He spent time looking through his contract while in front of Judge Milian because he didn't even know what was in it. He won, but it certainly wasn't due to preparation for court. Good thing he has a good itemization of charges in his patient contract or he'd be out of luck!

But a but disappointing considering all rave reviews I read prior to buying the book. It was basic and general information that I could have possibly received from online websites. If you are clueless about the process and are not internet savy, then it is a great book for you. It gives you the basic foundation.

I live in Upstate New York and there are not that many great legal resources in the self-help field in the local libraries. This book really did the trick! Surprisingly, it was easy to read, simple and complete. If you have a small claims issue, you need to look at this book.

Richard Solomon was the keynote speaker at the Bail USA conference. He was very impressive and gave great information about the use of the small claims courts (which was featured in the New York Times). I bought the book to assist in my collection efforts. I particularly like the idea of limiting debt to an amount below the level of small claims court so I can use these "lower-expense" courts than either collection agencies or attorneys in "regular court."

My autobody rep told me about this book b/c the insurance would not cover my accident. This was a bargain for the amount of useful information inside. Remember to bring to Court more than one written estimate for your accident case as the book tells you to do so! You can really win in small claims court and this is the guide to help you.

This book was featured in an article entitled "Into the Woods of Small-Claims Court" in the Sunday July 17, 2005 New York Times. The article had some great tips from the author.

This is an excellent book, as are all the Nolo's books. I filed a personal injury case using this book and the other Nolo's book about representing yourself in court and did great. There were very few things the two books did not cover. I disagree with the reviewer that was unhappy with the book. The book does not claim to put you through law school and qualify you as a lawyer by the time you are done reading it....some thinking and effort on your own is required and even then it is not easy to represent yourself in court. But if you dare to enter the world of judges and lawyers...the two Nolo's books are the best bet you have for help. I liked the author (who is a judge) because unlike any judges or lawyers I encountered, he tells it like it is. In one section he mentions judge's lying....what Judge would admit a judge lies? AND BELIEVE ME THEY DO...FREELY AND FREQUENTLY AND THINK NOTHING OF IT! I recommend this book and the other nolo's book highly.

A family friend followed instructions in this excellent book only to lose over $30,000 in attorney fees to the other party. The trick is to read and follow the book completely and not just 90% of it. The most fundamental question before pursuing all the paper work nicely taught in this book, is whether you have a case. The book talks about this in the initial chapters. Answering that question can be very difficult for the layman because lawyers and judges see things differently than you and me. You may want to spend two or three sessions with one or two attorneys before pursuing with the discovery and trial procedure. I said "you may," I meant "you must." In our case, the defendant realized she did not have a case at some point but tried to respond to all the discovery requests using the book while trying to negotiate the attorney fees demanded of her. He did not want to pay $5000 of attorney fees to the opposing party and he ended up paying them over 30k after months of exchanging discovery and trial paperwork. I must add part of the problem was also a bad advice from an attorney she saw who agreed with her in that she did not have a case but gave her the bad advice to stand firm regarding how much attorney fees she should pay.

The book does an excellent job of showing you ho easy it is to file and serve the various paperwork needed for a lawsuit. The writing is excellent and makes every thing real simple. But there are two elements that are heavily needed in the business of law: A) The ability to be as logical and as picky as a computer in reading every "if," "but" and "then" in contracts and legal cases (we mortal being always look at the gist of the situation) and B) to be able to negotiate the settlement etc like a seasoned Real Estate broker to minimize damage. This bit involves forgetting about who is, or wants to think is, right or wrong and looking at options, possible damage, odds and build an implicit decision tree to choose the path of minimum damage. You don't get these two elements from the book. You will get item A) from a good lawyer but good luck getting B) from an attorney. In fact it is a rare find in most brokers.

The book is like a good knife that can help a lot or be used incorrectly.

Because of defects and omissions in this book, the court rejected my request for a default! Boy was I angry! Amazingly the author is a judge!! Specifically in chapter 9, page 3 it says to SKIP item 5. WRONG! Furthermore the author fails to mention that you must file SEPARATE requests for default for EACH defendant. (In my case I sued a small business AND the individual owner)

The author also cuts corners by providing only one sample for BOTH a request for entry of default AND judgments requests. This only confuses the reader.

The author's only sample of a declaration (that is supposed to accompany the request for judgment) pertains to an auto accident case. I modeled my declaration (regarding a breach of contract case) after the author's declaration and my legal coach said mine was a train wreck!

The author is also vague as to what instances you are supposed to use and file a "Proof of Service by Mail". I have no clue.

This book has potential to be a really great book. Unfortunately the author didn't dot all his i's and cross his t's so to speak. Defective forms can potentially cost you thousands if the defendant takes advantage. Hopefully there aren't more defects in this book that I haven't mentioned.

I think I got my moneys worth out of this book. I learned a lot about the NC Magistrates Court, and it has given me the ammunition I need to make an informed decision on whether to take someone to court or not. If you can't afford a lawyer to prosecute someone for $3000.00 or less, then check this book out. I think it's very good.

For someone who's never been to small claims court this book gave clear, understandable info on what to expect and therefore insight on how things work in this particular judiciary. Eminently valuable!

We are owners of a small business and recently we lost our bookkeeper/receptionist after 10 years. I have had to take over collections. This book was of great help to someone who has never gone to court. The book covers both sides of a court claim. This gives you a feel of possible ways the defendant will react and how they might present evidence. I also have had to go to Debtor's Court and the book explained all the rights and thing I should ask for inorder to get the money that is owed to our busines. It covers general information for all state on laws on how long to have to refile etc. Great book for any small business owners who have to deal with the small claims court systems. Five Stars for great reference book to have in your office!!!!!!

As Small Claims Legal Advisor for the Superior Court, County of San Francisco, for nearly 19 years, I recommend this book to anyone who needs nationwide information on small claims court. Why research each state individually when you can have it in one book?

Jeanne F. Stott

This book skips all the important details, it is fine for someone who is NOT going to Small Claims Court. This book is useless to the person who IS being sued.

Written by Attorney Ralph Warner, Everybody's Guide to Small Claims Court is the updated eleventh edition of an absolutely indispensable guide for anyone involved as a plaintiff or defendant in a small claims court case. Chapters walk the reader through how to write a demand letter, file and serve papers, prepare evidence, secure appropriate witnesses, figure out damages, mediate a settlement, collect money after winning a case, and much more. Written expressly for lay readers, Everybody's Guide to Small Claims Court is as straightforward and easy-to-understand as a legal guide can be, and the eleventh edition now includes the most current procedures in the small claims courts in all states and Washington D.C., as well as practical advice from judges who have seen everything. An absolute "must-have" legal reference, particularly for home and business owners.

This book has information on how to prepare your case, win in court and collect your money. You can learn how to determine the damages, mediate the settlement, write a demand letter, file and serve papers, prepare for court and collect your money when you win. A big plus, this book includes information for all 50 States. For 24-hour access to straightforward legal solutions check out www.nolo.com. The author, Ralph Warner, helped found Nolo in 1971, and is one of the recognized pioneers of the self-help law movement.

Keep in mind that on some smaller cases you have no choice but to work the case without a lawyer since the amount of money involved may not be enough to cover the expense of an attorney. This book will be a lifesaver.

Theo is clear in the title that this book applies to Florida. It is full of information that applies in Florida and nowhere else. A full two-thirds of the book consists of an extensive reprint of Florida small claims laws and a legal terms glossary, neither of which is useful. The first third, the text of the book, rambles back and forth through mumbo jumbo that, if I had no experience with small claims court, would scare me away for good. Small claims, at least in Utah, is far simpler than Theo makes it sound. Although I'm sure there is a lot to be learned from Theo's experience, you won't get it from this book.

Wonderfully entertaining and useful...

Probably best for those living in Florida- as the title states.

Theo is a personal friend of mine. He has filed maybe hundreds of lawsuits, and either wins them or settles them at his advantage. He's fantastic! He's also provided some "lay-type" guidance to others, though always loudly with the disclaimer that he is not a lawyer and frequently suggests getting one to folks.

God bless him, he helps keep these big companies honest for the rest of us! We need more people like him around!

His integrity is also impeccable, so count on the straight story. And he has a heart to help the unfortunate, I've seen even waive charges for his his photography and other office services if he thought it would be a hardship for them. But woe to the honcho that thinks he is easy prey! For he practices what he preaches!

A generally well written book, although I have found certain rules (such as the $5,000 maximum) either incorrect or out of date. The Los Angeles Superior Court Website indicates the maximum for small claims as $7500. Chapters such as how to locate and properly name defedents, how to collect judgments, rules of evidence, etc., are generally unchanging, and thus an understanding of these is critical for the plaintiff and defendant, and usually don't go out of date. I would not rely of the included forms and instructions; instead obtain these directly from your local court house or download them from the court's website.

In general, a fairly well written "how to" book, although I would give it only an average rating.