WHAT IF YOU WERE ACCUSED OF DOING NOTHING WRONG?
If you are accused of no wrongdoing, the smart way is to do your best to prepare for trial. You should not appear in court defenseless without any preparation, even though you have done nothing wrong. However, for small litigation, hiring a lawyer is not mandatory. In other words, you can represent yourself without having a lawyer.
GATHERING THE NECESSARY EVIDENCE TO PROVE INNOCENCE
If you want to prove your innocence to a judge or arbitrator, you must collect evidence that will prove you are innocent. The argument in the trial is to reconstruct the case based on the evidence. Any written agreement, letter, lease agreement, email, receipt, recording, canceled checks, money order, warranty of product, advertisement, quote, damaged product or clothing, various documents, etc. may be taken as evidence at trial to prove that the incident is not your responsibility.
IF THERE IS NO MATERIAL EVIDENCE, REPLACE IT WITH AN EYEWITNESS OR EXPERT WITNESS
If you can’t prepare any of the evidence listed above, you don’t have to panic. A statement from yourself or related people who know the case can also be adopted as evidence. A qualified witness is someone who witnessed the incident directly or an expert with expertise in the field. In medical litigation, it is a great help if a professional medical person comes as a witness.
IS IT POSSIBLE TO FILE A COUNTERSUIT?
Of course, it is possible to sue on a counterclaim. If the claimant who filed the lawsuit has caused material damage to the defendant, the defendant has the right to sue the claimant. The amount of compensation, as with a small trial, cannot exceed $5,000. If the responsible party is a third party, not the claimant, he or she may take third-party action.
HOW TO COUNTERCLAIM
The procedure for filing a counterclaim is to submit a Statement of Claim to the small court within five days of receiving the small trial notice or on the day of the small trial. In this case, the trial date may be postponed because the counterclaimed party must be given time to prepare a plea. In the case of small cases, the trial is not held separately but is conducted at once by tying the complaint and the suit into a single trial. However, if the defendant (the claimant) is trying to retaliate against the claimant or simply delay the court, the judge may, at his discretion, cause the defendant to pay a fine or bear the cost of the trial.
MEANING OF “NOTICE OF JUDGMENT”
What does it mean to receive a notice of judgment? It means that someone filed a lawsuit against you, but you automatically lost because you did not attend the trial on the specified date. If you have not received a notice of claim in the first place or if you have not been able to attend the specified trial date, you may resume the trial. You must bring a notice of judgment by default and visit the small court clerk to indicate your intention to resume.
If you have received a Notice of Judgment after attending the trial, this notice will inform you of the amount of compensation you must pay. The claimant will be a judgment creditor, the defendant will be a judgment debtor, and the creditor will contact the debtor separately and tell him how to pay.
WHAT IF YOU’RE HARASSED BY SIMILAR LAWSUITS?
S Sometimes a person may file a small trial lawsuit repeatedly to plead with you and harass you. In particular, if you are filing a lawsuit for the same reason, even if it has already been ruled on, you must inform the judge at the time of trial. The judge may determine whether the claimant is simply harassing the defendant. In this case, the judge may take legal action to prevent the claimant from filing a lawsuit again for the same reason in the future