The Small Claims Court, A Guide to Its Practical Use - California Department of Consumer Affairs
Who Can File or Defend a Claim?
With certain exceptions, anyone can sue or be sued in small claims court. Generally, all parties must represent themselves.
An individual can sue another individual or a business. A business, in turn, can sue an individual or another business. However, an assignee (a person or business that sues on behalf of another, such as a collection agency) can't sue in small claims court. A federal agency may not be sued in small claims court.
To file or defend a case in small claims court, you must be (a) at least 18 years old or legally emancipated, and (b) mentally competent. A person must be represented by a Guardian ad Litem if he or she is under 18 and not legally emancipated, or has been declared mentally incompetent by a court. For a minor, the representative is ordinarily one of his or her parents. A small claims clerk or small claims adviser can explain how to have a guardian ad litem appointed.
Can Someone Else Represent You?
In most situations, parties to a small claims action must represent themselves. As a general rule, attorneys or non-attorney representatives (such as debt collection agencies or insurance companies) may not represent you in small claims court. Self-representation is usually required. There are, however, several exceptions to this general rule:
If the court determines that a party is unable to properly present his or her claim or defense for any reason, the court may allow another individual to assist that party. The individual who helps you can only provide assistance—the individual’s participation in court cannot amount to legal representation, and the person can't be an attorney.
Corporation or other legal entity — A corporation or other legal entity (that is not a natural person) can be represented by a regular employee, an officer, or a director; a partnership can be represented by a partner or regular employee of the partnership, but the representative may not be an attorney or person whose only job is to represent the party in small claims court.
Property agent — A property agent may represent the owner of rental property if the property agent was hired principally to manage the rental of that property and not principally to represent the property owner in small claims court and the claim relates to the rental property. At the hearing, the agent should tell the judge that he or she was hired and is employed principally to manage the property. This statement may also be in a written declaration. A common interest development also may appear and participate in a small claims action through an agent.
Sole proprietorship — In a case in which a claim can be proved or disputed by evidence of an account that constitutes a business record, and there is no other issue in the case, a sole proprietorship (such as a physician) can be represented by a regular employee who is employed for purposes other than solely representing the proprietor in small claims court actions, and who is qualified to testify to the identity and mode of preparation of the business record. In that situation, the employee must be able to testify that (1) the evidence of the account was made in the regular course of business, (2) the evidence of the account was made at or near the time of the transaction, and (3) the sources of the information about the account and its time and method of preparation are such as to indicate their trustworthiness.
For example, this exception to the general rule of self-representation might permit a dentist's bookkeeper to represent the dentist in an action to collect a patient's account. However, if the patient alleged that the dentist's services were unnecessary or performed poorly, the case would involve another issue of fact, and the dentist would need to appear at the hearing in person. As in all actions to collect debts and accounts, the plaintiff's claim form must include an itemization of all fees and charges that have been added to the original loan amount or agreed price.
