I think the US small claims court is meant to handle situations like this (although I know little about it). I wonder if it's available to litigants from other countries.

[–] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world -1 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

I don't think it is. If it's anything like the US court systems I know more about (criminal, juvenile, immigration, main civil court), it's extremely backlogged already.

And that's even before considering jurisdiction and how much more a lawyer licensed to practice in at least two countries charges.

Even IF you decided to go through with it in spite of everything, you could easily end up spending thousands of dollars fighting an $80 case and STILL be likely to lose.

[–] mox@lemmy.sdf.org 7 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I have heard that you don't need a lawyer in small claims court (in the sense that it's not really expected). Like I said, though, I know little about it. Maybe someone in a position to know will show up in this thread and fill us all in.

[–] dubyakay@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

You don't need a lawyer in small claims. Can also go with a paralegal or just represent yourself.

But that's not why the small claims is backlogged anyway. I have actually no idea why it's backlogged. I've been a defendant in a small claims court case since 2021 and nothing has progressed except for an arbitration hearing in 2022.

Edit: 2020s, not early 2000s. Fuck, it hasn't been twenty years yet.