Washington, DC -- HALT announced today the completion of its first nationwide study on the effects of increasing the ceiling on small claims court payouts. This ground-breaking analysis uses data from small claims courts across the nation to lay to rest concerns raised-mainly by trial lawyers-that higher dollar limits would produce an onslaught of new cases, straining the system to its breaking point. The HALT report puts forth conclusive evidence that a dollar limit hike very rarely leads to a larger caseload. According to the study, in most cases of dollar limit increases, the caseloads do not change at all.

The study bolsters HALT's stance on the necessity of small claims court reforms. HALT, a legal reform organization that works to increase access to the civil justice system, has long worked to make the small claims court system a place where ordinary Americans can take control of simple legal affairs. These courts-the real Peoples' Courts-allow people to settle their routine legal problems, without having to hire an expensive lawyer, in a court that uses simplified procedures, communicates in plain English, provides consumer aids and encourages self-representation.

HALT's study strengthens the belief that that one of the best ways to make small claims courts more beneficial is to increase dollar limits on small claims court payouts. With limits in some states as low as $2000, many Americans find themselves stuck with simple legal problems that are worth more than a $2000 payout. In these instances, people are faced with an unappealing choice: lower the value of the claim so it falls below the dollar limit or hire a lawyer to take the case to civil court, where legal fees will eat up any additional restitution.

As the advantages of higher ceilings on payouts become clearer, trial lawyers have argued that raising the dollar limits threatens to overburden small claims court systems. The HALT study, which draws on state-by-state caseload data, resoundingly answers these concerns. On average, a court experiences only a 5.5% increase in caseload during the first year after a dollar limit increase, which is hardly notable given the range of average variation on a normal year. Furthermore, five years after the jurisdictional increase, the caseloads of four out of five courts return to their pre-increase size.

The new statistics, add to the findings of HALT's 2002 Small Claims Court Report Card, a comprehensive evaluation of the country's small claims courts. In addition to revealing prohibitively low dollar limits, HALT found that many courts also lacked user-friendliness, simplicity and protection for pro se (nonlawyer) litigants. Following the Report Card's release, Maryland and Indiana upped their dollar limits and California and New York stand on the verge of increases. Armed with the Report Card and the new study on caseloads, HALT plans to continue to advocate a more effective and useful small claims court system. A key element of this is obtaining higher dollar limits, with an eventual goal of increasing all limits to $20,000, in order to provide more individual access to the advantages of small claims court.

Founded in 1978, HALT-An Organization of Americans for Legal Reform is a non-partisan, non-profit public interest organization. HALT pursues an ambitious education and advocacy program that challenges the legal establishment to improve access and reduce costs in the civil justice system.

		To read HALT’s Study on Small Claims Court, click here