What do you do when a person or business owes you money? Well, if it’s under $5000 you have a right to file a small claim. In Rancho Cucamonga you can file a small claim for around $50, then you need to have the person served. This service guarantees to the court that the person you are suing knows they are being sued.
We weren’t new to small claims court. In fact this would be my fourth appearance in about 14 years. The first three were in Burbank, Los Angeles and Santa Monica. I won the small claim in Burbank but was never able to collect. I also won the small claim in Los Angeles and lost the one in Santa Monica but in that case I was representing a company that had been sued.
My most recent case involved our former landlord who had breached our lease agreement. We felt our case was sound so we filed.
First, review the San Bernardino checklist for filing or responding to a small claim.
Second, after finding the correct court for filing, file your claim. Last, have the person or entity served.
For our small claim process server we used Yale Attorney Service in Upland to serve the defendant. This company was kind enough to not only serve the defendant early but also to call and let me know exactly when and how the defendant had been served AND they filed the proof of service with the court so I didn’t have to waste time going back to do it myself. Not to mention their fee was less than other services in the area.
Generally it will be about a month from the time you file to your court date. This allows time for the defendant to be served and for both parties to gather their information.
My experience with the judges/commissioners in Burbank, Santa Monica and Los Angeles were not good ones. The court rooms were cramped and overburdened. In general I felt rushed to prove my case. In fact, one of the judges gave me about 3 minutes then just cut me off. He was given too many cases for one day.
Rancho Cucamonga small claims court was very different. First, the court room was huge, there was plenty of space for seating. Second, the bailiff did a nice job of communicating the rules to all parties and keeping the situation “light”. Even though it is small claims, it is still stressful. Last, the judge we had was simply fantastic. I had the opportunity to watch him handle about 6 cases before mine. I was amazed.
He took whatever time was necessary to truly help each side understand the strengths and weaknesses of their cases, there was no rush at all. I felt that he had a genuine interest in helping the parties involved, which really is what it should be about.
The Rancho Cucamonga small claims court also offered a mediator and although the defendant in my case refused to utilize this service with me, it’s great that it is there. Several of the parties did use the service and were able to reach resolution.
My experience with Rancho Cucamonga small claims court was a great one and that is not because I won the case. As of today I haven’t received notice of the decision. I was pleased with how it was handled and how professional and courteous the judge was with all parties involved.
If you need to have someone served with a 3 day notice, small claims suit or unlawful retainer, we recommend the following Rancho Cucamonga process server:
Yale Attorney Service
375 Vine Ave, Upland, CA 91786
(909) 986-0883
