Maria and Beth are college students who share an off-campus apartment. The rent is $800 a month, which they agreed to share equa
lly. The lease is in Maria's name. Beth has not paid her half for the past two months and is about to graduate. Maria's best option to get the money Beth owes her is to sue Beth in ___________.
Small-claims courts are low jurisdictional courts that usually treat landlord-tenant cases where small amounts of money are in dispute. Some other major cases such as family claims for domestic violence are mostly not allowed to be reviewed in this type of court.
A small claims court is a local court where a plaintiff can make a claim regarding small amounts of money. Usually small claims courts only have jurisdiction over private disputes regarding money owed under agreement (applies to Maria's claim), unpaid loans, property damage, contract breaches, etc. Small claims court can handle cases up to $35,000 and you usually do not need a lawyer.
