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The Small Claims Reform Project is a national campaign to publicize the existence and advantages of small claims courts, to educate legal consumers about their rights, and to advocate for systematic reforms in the civil justice system. Small claims courts, which use simplified procedures, require plain English, provide consumer aids and often prohibit lawyers, have tremendous promise as a means of empowering ordinary people to take charge of their own routine legal needs. The Small Claims Reform Project pursues the following improvements:
Raising the dollar limits for small claims courts to $20,000. In most states, "small claims" procedures have been limited to cases involving extremely low dollar amounts - often under $5,000. Raising these small claims dollar limits is a critical first step to opening up the system. While the ultimate goal of a $20,000 limit may require some incremental steps, achieving that kind of increase would be the most meaningful reform to increase consumer access to the small claims courts.
Authorizing small claims judges to issue court orders. In most states, small claims courts can only award money damages. Small claims courts cannot issue court orders that require someone to "cease and desist" from actions that harm others. This limitation means that many small disputes between neighbors or over contract rights, cannot be dealt with in small claims court. The lack of the ability to issue court orders also means that small claims judges often cannot help people collect a judgment they have won. Fully empowering small claims judges to handle cases and problems that require a court order is the second major reform that would improve consumer service by the small claims system.
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