How to Win In Small Claims Court

• Obtain a complaint form from the small claims court clerk in the district that you live.
  
  
• Complete the complaint form, making sure you state the full and proper name of the party you are suing; give basic facts of your complaint so the defendant knows what this is about and make sure you state the amount of money you are requesting.
  
  
• Mail or bring the complaint to the clerk of court and pay the required fee.
  
  
• The Clerk will send the complaint to the defendant and if the defendant responds to the Court, a trial date will be set.
  

• Get organized by gathering all pertinent information, such as canceled checks, contracts and correspondence.
  
  
• Develop a one paragraph statement of no more than eight sentences that sums up your entire case.
  
  For Example: The defendant hired me to paint his house for $5,000. Here is a copy of the contract. I painted the house according to the terms of the contract and the defendant has only paid me $3,500.
  
  
• The judge will then likely ask you a few questions. Listen to the question and answer only what the judge asks. What is important to your case is what the judge thinks is important.
  
  
• If you have witneses, have them testify to what they know first hand, not what they think or what they heard.