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Small Claims Court

The "jurisdiction" of a court is the authority of the court to hear and decide a particular type of case. The District Court has jurisdiction over small claims cases in which the plaintiff is seeking a money judgment of up to $4,500.00.

Before proceeding to a contested hearing, the parties are required to meet with a mediator to see whether they can resolve the case by agreement. Although the parties are not mandated to settle the case, they are required to mediate the case in good faith. If the parties cannot reach an agreement, the mediator will so inform the Court, and the matter will then proceed to contested hearing, either that same day or on another specially-assigned day and time.

In hearings before the small claims court, witnesses shall testify under oath. The judge has the discretion to admit all evidence that he or she believes is relevant and has probative value; the technical rules of evidence do not apply in small claims actions. However, the plaintiff must still prove the elements of their claim in order to prevail, i.e. if the plaintiff is suing the defendant on grounds of breach of contract, the plaintiff needs to show that the parties had a contract, that the defendant "breached" (failed to live up to his or her responsibilities under the contract), that the plaintiff suffered damages as a result of the breach, and the amount of those damages claimed.

The successful small claims plaintiff will in most cases be awarded a money judgment. The judgment is judicial recognition that the defendant is indebted to the plaintiff for a particular sum of money. The plaintiff is not assured of actually receiving the money, however, since the judgment can only be enforced out of property or money belonging to the defendant. Remedies to enforce judgments are available, see 14 Maine Revised Statutes Annotated §3120 et. seq.

Small claims forms and handbooks are available at the clerk's office at all Maine District Court locations. The Guide to Small Claims Proceedings in District Court is also available online. You should also review the Maine Rules of Small Claims Procedure, contained in the most recent edition of the Maine Rules of Court and 14 Maine Revised Statutes Annotated §7451 et. seq.