What are Missouri Small Claims Cases and Class Action Lawsuits?

The State of Missouri small claims cases are matters of civil disagreement between two or more parties where the tort or contract disagreement’s monetary value does not exceed $5,000 apart excluding interest or costs. A class-action lawsuit in the State is an action that is collectively taken by a group of people who have been wronged. In the State, small claim cases are heard in the small claim division of the Circuit Court. In contrast, the Supreme Court of the State has jurisdiction over a class action against a large organization or public corporation.

What is a Class Action Lawsuit in Missouri?

In Missouri, a class action lawsuit brings an organization to question the court concerning the wrong committed against a group of people. A class-action lawsuit can be filed by more than one attorney representing the people the defendant organization has wronged. A class-action lawsuit may take any of the following forms:

• A group of consumers who have been deceived by a company regarding a product or who have had some physical injury while using a product.
• A group of employees who had not been duly compensated were promised some benefits but were not given them, or a group of employees who were denied some entitlements.
• A group of shareholders whose dividends were not paid, whose dividend information was falsified, or was withheld from the shareholders.
• A community that has been polluted by a manufacturing company’s waste or other forms of environmental pollution.

How do I File a Claim in a Missouri Small Claims Court?

In Missouri, a person eligible to file a small claim must be at least eighteen years old and behave civil manner in the State. To file a small claim in any small claim court within the State, the petitioner can either pick up forms at the clerk of the circuit court’s office or use the small claim form online. The forms can either be filed by hand or typed. It is important to be legible when handwriting the forms, and avoid typos when typing to fill out the form. After filling out the forms, it should be submitted to the clerk’s office along with the filing fees.

In the State of Missouri, the filing fee varies from County to County, there is no exact filing fee in the State. For instance, filing fees are $38.50 in Greene County, whereas some counties have a higher filing fee.

Do I Need a Small Claims Lawyer?

A small claims court is an informal one, such that it allows for a speedy and less formal procedure. Most of the time, the people involved in a small claim case can answer the case without a legal representative’s help. A lawyer’s role in a small claim is merely advisory; a lawyer can help assess a case and give advice on how to handle the case, the most appropriate arguments, etc. However, anyone may employ a legal representative for a small claim.

How do Class Action Lawsuits Work in Missouri?

A class action litigation is usually complex, taking a long period of courtroom back and forth. In the State of Missouri, before a lawsuit is regarded as a class action, it must meet the following prerequisites:

• There must be several members of the class.
• The wrong committed against the class must be common to all.
• The claims by a legal representative must be typical of all class members.
• The legal representative must represent the people adequately.

After a class action lawsuit is filed and recognised, the class members are notified and are required to either opt in, opt out, or do nothing. Opting in means that a person belongs to the class group, while opting out means that a person will not benefit from any compensation paid to the class. When a person does not opt in or opt out, then the person has lost both the right to sue the organization separately and as a class.

Class action lawsuits are usually settled, however, those settlements require court approval.

Is a Class Action Better Than a Single Party Suit?

The question of which lawsuit is a better approach is circumstantial. For instance, a class action is ideal when several people have been wronged. However, a single-party suit may be the appropriate legal action when a person has suffered more personal injury than others. Also, a single-party suit might be more expensive in terms of finances. Still, the implication is that if the plaintiff spends a lot on litigation, then a favorable judgment will help recoup the cost. In a class action suit, members won’t have to be responsible for litigation costs, but each person’s compensation might not be worth a lot. In terms of getting justice, the best way to make a company pay for a wrong is in a class-action lawsuit. An organization tends to pay more in settling a wrong committed to a class of people than the court would have the organization pay to a single party suit.

Records of Missouri public records may also be accessible from some third-party websites. Aggregate sites are a convenient alternative for inquirers searching for multiple records across several US districts. To search these databases, however, users are typically expected to provide:

• The name of the person involved in the record, unless said person is a juvenile
• The location or assumed location of the document or person involved

Third-party sites are operated independently of government sources. Consequently, the availability, accuracy, and/or validity of some records may not be guaranteed.

What Cases are Heard by Small Claims in Missouri?

The small claims court in Missouri usually hears cases whose monetary value can be ascertained, which must not be more than $5,000. The small claims court typically settles petty disputes, bad debts, minor issues, etc. Some of the following are cases that may be heard in the small claims court; they are

• Bad debts of an amount not more than $5,000
• Contract disputes, the controversial amount must not be more than $5,000
• Equity payment
• Landlord-tenant disputes