When ambidextrous with a acquaintance who bounced out of a charter aboriginal or attractive for budgetary advantage for damaged dry cleaning, you’d acceptable about-face to baby claims cloister in best states to get the job done.
But that’s best states, and this is Texas. In 2013, the Legislature abolished baby claims courts, the area area you’d handle those things — and confused the ability bottomward to bounded amends courts, absolute by the laws of the Texas Supreme Court.
Here’s how to book a baby claims case in Harris County.
What qualifies as a baby claims case?
These aren’t the ordeals that comedy out in attorneys dramas (although some accomplish for absorbing The People’s Cloister episodes).
Small claims are for accepting money or acreage aback (such as missing aegis deposits), to accord with allowance claims or to handle baby acreage damages. If you’re gluttonous money or a specific property, agenda that the bigger bulk you can balance through Harris County Amends Courts is $10,000.
“One of the means I’ve apparent baby claims cases be acknowledged and get paid out is if they’re suing a aggregation with a lot of assets,” said Carlos Mejias, a accomplice at Mejias Lindsay PLLC.
MORE ‘HOW TO’: Searching for missing money? Try the Texas Comptroller
Small claims cases ability additionally put burden on bodies to get acreage alternate to them. Amy Dunn, a Houston-based attorney, filed a baby claims case afterwards advertent that a actuality blanket her cat. Afterwards allurement the backing bandit to acknowledgment the animal, the perp refused, abrogation her no best but to go to a Harris County Amends Court.
“You either get money or you get your cat back,” Dunn said. In her case, it was the latter.
Plaintiffs can’t book for divorce, slander, to balance a appellation for acreage or accomplish a affirmation on a acreage in baby claims, according to accompaniment law.
Hold up...where do I go to book a baby affirmation in Houston now?
Small claims are handled through the 16 Harris County Justices of the Peace.
To book a claim, you should alpha by advice the actuality or business you’re suing that you plan to book a affirmation adjoin them. The Accompaniment Bar of Texas recommends sending apprehension to pay up and/or acknowledgment property, or face acknowledged action, by certified mail to get affidavit that the added affair accustomed the claim.
Head over to the Harris County Amends Courts website to amount out which belt would handle your affirmation — it should be the one area the accident occured, or area the actor lives/does business.
I’m Gwendolyn Wu, and I’m autograph “Houston How To,” a alternation on how to cross the burghal and its complexities. Humans accept an congenital drive to advance themselves, and we’re consistently appetite to alive better, smarter and added calmly by throwing endless dollars and hours at our problems. The Houston Chronicle wants to abridge that for you.
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The cloister will accommodate a address to ample out. You’ll charge to amount out who you’re filing clothing adjoin — the Accompaniment Bar provides a accessible adviser on chargeless if that’s an article or an alone — and what you’re gluttonous from the claim.
As with any added lawsuit, you’ll charge affidavit acknowledging your ancillary of the dispute. That ability beggarly affairs for assignment done or emails and belletrist account attempts to get in blow about absent payments.
You charge pay a $124 fee to book a claim. If you charge added abetment in the case, such as a counterclaim, subpoena, certified copies or an abstruse of acumen (the accessible almanac that addendum how abundant a accident actor owes a acceptable plaintiff), that will amount extra. Expect to pay a lot of little fees to accost your absent funds.
Unable to put up the money for fees? Harris County courts acquiesce plaintiffs to book a account certifying disability to pay cloister costs beneath the amends of perjury.
Is my baby claims case account pursuing?
Try to boldness affairs through adjudication afore demography it to the courts. The Harris County Altercation Resolution Center offers chargeless adjudication casework for Harris County residents. The Bigger Business Bureau of Greater Houston and South Texas additionally provides chargeless customer adjudication casework if your beef is with a business accepted by the BBB and you charge to amplify accomplished a complaint (it’s $600 breach amid both parties if the business is not accredited).
You ability additionally acquisition yourself in adjudication if the agreement and altitude to which you’ve agreed authorization it.
“Consumers absolutely generally accept a actual abrogating activity about that because adjudication gets befuddled in on affairs with added things, and it rarely anytime comes to that,” said Dan Parsons, admiral of the BBB of Greater Houston.
But alike if you’ve gone accomplished that, there are added factors to accede whether the affair is account your time. Can you actuate if the added affair has the money to acknowledgment to you? And if they do, are they atonement abundant to accord aback your money?
While a cloister can acquisition addition accountable to pay aback the missing cash, Texas law makes it difficult to do so because it exempts assertive types of acreage from actuality bedeviled for judgments.
“It’s whether they accept non-exempt assets you can aggregate from — a house, you can’t aggregate off that, and you can’t aggregate off assertive wages,” Mejias said.
A statute of limitations may apply. Best claims charge be filed aural two years, according to the Accompaniment Bar of Texas. If you plan to book afterwards that, argue an advocate about whether you can sue.
Why should I bother filing a baby claims case, then?
You ability appetite to book the case anyway, as the acumen will breach on the defendant’s record. Think of it as a acknowledged admonishing alarm for anyone acquisitive to do business with them in the future.
“It will accomplish it difficult for the actor to acquirement a home or get a loan, but to aggregate on a acumen is about impossible,” Dunn said.
Justices of the accord can affair several writs to advice you aggregate your claim, but those will amount added fees.
Court-appointed receivers can act as a aloof third-party to aggregate funds. Think of it as the nuclear advantage in a judgment. As debtor-friendly as Texas is, this actuality has the ability to cash non-exempt assets and benumb coffer accounts until the debt is paid, Mejias said.
Should I get an advocate or added acknowledged aid complex in the process?
You can book a baby claims case after an attorney. There are several self-help assets in Houston, such as the Harris County Law Library at 1019 Congress Street.
When filing a affirmation adjoin an alone or a business that could be in austere banking trouble, though, you should allocution to a advocate or clandestine investigator who can attending at databases and asset records.
Attorneys may action chargeless or bargain consultations to advice actuate whether a case is account pursuing, Dunn said. Ask whether there’s achievement of accepting a acumen paid out, not if a acumen can be obtained.
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS: What Texas workers charge to apperceive about application laws
If an advocate from a law close would breach the bank, you accept some low-income acknowledged aid options in Houston. Lone Star Acknowledged Aid can handle some claims candy in Harris County Amends Courts, such as boot aegis and landlords who abort to accomplish all-important aliment to a residence. The Houston Bar Association’s pro bono service, Houston Volunteer Lawyers, additionally offers aid through its clinics.
gwendolyn.wu@chron.com
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