Smaller Claims

So you have a smaller claim… property damage or small civil claim, a deductible you want back, damaged property, claim against anyone…landlord, contractor, business partner, etc. It doesn’t seem like the claim is big enough to justify hiring a lawyer, especially on an hourly basis. What do you do?

In Washington, you, as an individual can file a claim under $10k in small claims court which is in the District Court of the County where the dispute arose generally speaking. Attorneys and paralegals aren’t allowed to represent anyone there and it can be a streamlined and more affordable route to dispute resolution than hiring an attorney. Link to Clark County (Vancouver, WA) small claims information here:  Small Claims | Clark County (wa.gov)

In OR, you can also use the small claims process for claims under $10k subject to similar rules.  Link to Multnomah County (Portland, OR) small claims information here: Oregon Judicial Department : Small Claims : Going to Court : State of Oregon

In addition to small claims, in Oregon, you may want to read up on ORS 20.080 for civil claims where attorney fees may be awardable to a Plaintiff and ORS 20.082 for a breach of contract claim where attorney fees may be awardable to a Plaintiff. In Oregon, it’s worth calling around to attorneys to see if they’d take your case and file under one of these statutes, even if you think your claim is worth a bit more than that. In WA, you can still call, but I’m much more likely to refer those claims to small claims in WA than in OR where I’m more likely to take on a new client because of this attorney fee statute.