What is the lowest amount you have been sued over...

[GucciMark]

I'm curious as to

what the lowest dollar amount

anyone reading this has either been sued over,

or had an ITS letter for.

My thinking is that a CA probably would not sure for

anything less than $200, but I may be wrong?

[divemedic]

CA attorneys generally work for dozens of CA's, OC's, hospitals, etc. Accordingly, on any given week, they can have dozens of cases in a single community. They batch their cases by date and location so that on a given day in court, they are prosecuting a number of claims; not just yours.

If you look at the court docket, you'll likely find that attorney's name on it for a dozen or so cases. Possibly for that many different clients.

Your first appearance in court is usually an answer hearing, though in some instances you may have filed a written answer and not need to appear in person (check your rules).

The judge will begin with the first case on the docket "#CV 026 Asset v. Mr. Smith" The plaintiff's attorney will make their presence known and the judge will ask if Mr. Smith is present. (Unless you've filed a written answer, in which case the plaintiff's attorney will notify the judge that an answer has been filed and request a conference or trial date.) If you're answering in person, you acknowledge your presence. The judge will ask you if you wish to deny the allegations or confess judgment.

If you deny the allegations, the judge will let you know you have x number of days to file a written answer. He may or may not set a pre-trial conference date at that time. If you confess judgment, a judgment will be entered and likely the judge will request you stay until after he completes the docket call so you can meet with plaintiff's counsel to make payment arrangements. Usually it's no more than 30 minutes to an hour that you have to wait.

Your answer hearing takes all of about a minute. So, in 15-30 minutes that one CA attorney will have made an appearance for 10-20 claims. 95% of which the defendant doesn't appear for or ever answer, and a default judgment is entered. Of the 5% that do appear, 90% of those will confess judgment.

Afterwards, the attorney will make the hour drive to the next county and repeat the process. Believe it or not, many county courts stagger the days and times for these types of cases to accommodate these "road show" attorneys.

So never consider the distance or the amount of the claim as a hindrance to the plaintiff. They're probably going to be there anyway, and since they count on the default judgment, it doesn't really matter if it's for $100 or $10,000.

This is also why it's a good idea to fight a claim. They don't want to eventually waste an hour appearing at trial for a $500 suit when they could spend that hour getting 10 default judgments. If you put up any kind of a defense, even a frivolous one, the odds are in your favor they will simply dismiss their claim.

The actual procedures will vary by state, but it's generally along these lines.

These "road show" attorneys are usually fresh out of law school and have limited or no trial experience. For the most part they are paid a salary, not a percentage (the firm gets the percentage). They are often only in it for a year or two until they have gained some courtroom experience and can get a real job. Though there are exceptions and those that get a percentage can make some big bucks.

[CarolinaBlueEyes]

Dive is right on the money

When i was in court there was a case for 85.00 brought for a medical bill... the attorney who was in the court room that day respresented about 10 different JDB.. so its all in a days work.. also I notice in our area these cases are always on Thursdays.. guess it gives them time to get to the next court

[GucciMark]

Dive, that is very useful information, that should be a sticky.

[jc72]

I have been served 2 times in the past for $200 in medical bills from 2 different CA's.

Ended paying almost $500 total for each one. "Attorneys fees":roll:

[kksh]

The only way that I would pay a CA was if they could validate,...

I loved reading this statement. I keep reading all the reasons for validating and I'm thankful for all that's here. Now a question. Is there hope of validating when time is running short? I have a week until the "Answer Date" and twenty days until court. Thank you.