TABLE OF CONTENTS

What Are Small Claims Courts?

Making A Good Faith Effort

Do I Have A Case That's Worth My Time & Effort

To Be or Not to Be in Small Claims Court

I'm ready to file. Who do I sue?

I have my defendant. Where should I sue?

Beware of the Statute of Limitations

GLOSSARY

LEGAL TERMS

ACTION

A lawsuit or proceeding in a court of law.

BREACH

A violation in the performance of or a failure to perform an obligation created by a promise, duty, or law without excuse or justification.

ADMISSIBLE EVIDENCE

Evidence that can be legally and properly introduced in court.

AFFIANT

Person who makes and signs an affidavit or declaration.

AFFIDAVIT

A written statement of facts under oath, by a party. Can also be referred to as a declaration.

AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE

Defendant provides an excuse to escape responsibility without denying plaintiff's claim.

AGREEMENT

The mutual consent, whether written or verbal, of two or more contracting parties to the same terms through a meeting of the minds.

ALLEGATIONS

A statement of the issues in a pleading that a person intends to prove in court.

AMENDMENT

Making a change in the complaint, answer or countercomplaint.

CASE LAW

Law established by precedent, predominantly decisions of state Supreme Court or United States Supreme Court, used to support your position. Any opinion cited by a district court or another state is merely persuasive. It is not controlling law.

COMPLAINT

The legal document, also known as a pleading that initiates a civil lawsuit. It states facts and identifies the action the court is to asked to take.

CONTRACT

A legally enforceable agreement between two or more competent parties signifying a meeting of the minds either orally or in writing.

CORPORATION

A legal entity created under state law most commonly intended to be in business.

CROSS EXAMINATION

The examination of a witness who has already testified in order to test, discredit or impeach the witness's testimony, knowledge, or credibility.

DAMAGES

An amount of money that may be recovered in the courts by any person who has suffered loss, detriment, or injury through the unlawful act, negligence or intentional conduct of another.

DIRECT EXAMINATION

The first questioning of a witness by the party on whose behalf they are called.

DEFENDANT

The person(s) or other entity against which a claim is filed.

DISMISSAL

The termination of a lawsuit. A dismissal without prejudice allows the plaintiff the option to file again at a later date. A dismissal with prejudice prevents the lawsuit from being brought again in the future in any form.

FRAUD

Intentional deception to deprive another person of property or to injure that person in some other way through misrepresentation.

JUDGMENT

A final determination by the court of the rights and claims of the parties in the action, whether by default, summary judgment consent judgment or verdict.

JURISDICTION

The extent of the court's legal authority in a specific geographical area to interpret and apply the law. Types of jurisdictional power include subject matter, personal, territorial, concurrent and appellate jurisdiction.

EVIDENCE

A fact presented before a court such as a witness' statement, a tangible object, etc that relates to or establishes a fact in contention.

GENERAL CONDITION OF CARRIAGE

A contract between the air carrier and the passenger specifying obligations, rights, warranties and disclaimers between the parties.

HEARING

A legal proceeding at which arguments and evidence may be presented on the matter at issue to be decided by the presiding judge.

ISSUE

The disputed point of contention between the parties of the action. To send out officially, such as to issue an order.

INJURY

A violation of a legally protected interest for which the law allows an action for legal or equitable relief.

MINIMUM CONTACTS

The level of a nonresident defendant's connection with or activity in a state that is sufficient under due process to support the assertion of personal jurisdiction under a long-arm statute.

PARTY

A person, business, organization or government agency actively involved in the prosecution or defense of a legal proceeding.

PERSONAL JURISDICTION

The court will only have personal jurisdiction, also referred to as "in personam jurisdiction," over a defendant if the defendant has been personally served or accepted service of court papers, and the defendant has at least some minimum contact with the state in which the court is located. Minimum contact varies on a case-by-case basis given the quality and quantity of defendant's contacts with the state.

PRO SE/IN PROPRIA PERSONA

Litigating a case on one's own behalf without an attorney.

STATUTE

A law adopted by the legislature.

STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS

The time limit setting the maximum period of time, after certain events, that a plaintiff may file a lawsuit. Once the statute tolls, the time period to file an action expires and the plaintiff is barred from filing any action.

VENUE

The proper geographical areas (county, city, or district) I which a court with jurisdiction over the subject matter may hear a case.

WITNESS

A person who testifies to what he or she has seen, heard or otherwise observed or testifies to his or her opinion based on a hypothetical statement.

I'm ready to file. Who do I sue?

The obvious answer would be the airline that ripped you off or inconvenienced you, right? That may be only part of the answer. There may be individuals and/or other businesses that should also be named in the lawsuit.

This is where your research comes in. If you are suing a company that is owned by another company, a subsidiary, you will want to name the parent corporation. If you have a product liability issue there may be a contractor, a supplier or other entities that you may also want to consider naming. You do not want to make it all the way to trial and have the judge dismiss the case because you failed to name the right party. For more on identifying and naming corporate defendants check out Guide To Finding Your Corporate Defendant. Guide To Finding And Understanding Your Corporate Defendant.

Sometimes you will name both the airline and specific individuals. Normally individual owners, officer, shareholders and employees are not liable for the debts of a corporation. But if you allege that fraud was committed or a Statute was violated, you may want to consider also naming the President and/or owners of the airline or the salesperson with whom you dealt.

Filing a lawsuit against the individual personally will get their attention. It can have the added benefit of curbing their behavior in the future for fear of other personal lawsuits. It could also make it easier for you to collect your money after being awarded a judgment. Beware of filing a suit against an airline that has already filed for bankruptcy or you may find yourself defending a lawsuit.

A disadvantage of naming individuals is that you have to serve each person named. If you conduct discovery you have to provide copies of the discovery to each defendant. The time necessary to prepare your case will increase and it will be more expensive, particularly if the named individuals live out of state, or in different states. If the person lives outside the state you cannot compel the person to come to court. Whereas you can sue a corporation and require its attendance in any state where the corporation does business and virtually all airlines are corporations subject to personal jurisdiction in all 50 states.

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