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 from interest or cost. 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 is the one that brings an organization to question in the law court concerning the wrong that was committed against a group of people. A class-action lawsuit can be filed by more than one attorney who acts as a representative of the class of people who have been wronged by the defendant organization. A class-action lawsuit may take any of the following forms;

• A group of consumers who have been deceived by a company concerning the product. Or a group of consumers who have had some physical injury while using a product.
• A group of employees who have not been duly compensated promised some benefits but were not given. 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 kept away 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 who is eligible to file a small claim must be at least eighteen years old and must behave civil rights in the State. To file a small share 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 make use of the small claim form online. The forms can either be filed by handwriting or typing. It is important to be legible when handwriting the forms, also, avoid typos when typing to fill the form. After filling 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 claim 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 mere advisory; a lawyer can help assess a case and give advice on how to handle the case, the most appropriate arguments, etc. However, anyone can employ a legal representative even though the claim is small.

How do Class Action Lawsuits Work in Missouri?

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

• There must include 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 a person will benefit from any compensation paid to the class. When a person does not opt-in or opt-out, then the person has lost both right to sue the organization separately and as a class.

Class action lawsuits are usually settled, yet, 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 for when several people have been wronged. But when a person has suffered more personal injury than others, then a single party suit is the best legal action to take. Also, in terms of finances, a single party suit might be more expensive. Still, the implication is that if the plaintiff spends a lot of litigation, then a favorable judgment will help recoup the cost. Whereas, 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 that are considered public may be accessible from some third-party websites. These websites often make searching more straightforward, as they are not limited by geographic location, and search engines on these sites may help when starting a search for specific or multiple records. To begin using such a search engine on a third-party or government website, interested parties usually must 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 independent of government sources and are not sponsored by these government agencies. Because of this, record availability on third-party websites may vary.

What Cases are Heard by Small Claims in Missouri?

The small claims court hears in Missouri are usually cases whose monetary value can be ascertained, which must not be more than $5,000. The small claims court 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