Small Claims Court Research Articles

What Do Small Claim Courts Have in Common Around the World?

This brief article aims to show some of the common features of Small Claim Courts around the world. The development of Small Claim Courts around the globe has been and interesting juridical phenomenum, which can be observed under several viewpoints as well as at a critical edge.

Evaluating the effectiveness of Brazilian Justice: An Empirical Analysis of Small Claims Courts

The purpose of this paper is to assess effectiveness of Brazilian Justice, by analizing Small Claims Courts capability to produce positive results.The grounds for such analysis is based on empirical data, new in their majority, gathered from the data in the National Research on Special Civil Courts of the CEBEPEJ (Brazilian Center for Legal Studies and Research) and intents to objectively gauge the quality of services offered in the Small Claims Courts to the population.It examines the effectiveness of the Special Courts, aiming at quantifying the cases in that, at the end of the lawsuits, the party in fact receives the resources to which such party is entitled – be it due to a favorable decision, or arising from an amicable agreement.

Estratégias discursivo-interacionais de construção de identidade de consumidor em audiências de conciliação

O presente estudo investiga a construção de identidade que emerge da produção discursiva dos consumidores nas audiências de conciliação de um Juizado especial Cível de relações de Consumo de uma cidade mineira. a partir de teorias da Sociolinguística interacional e da utilização de técnicas da análise da Conversa, gravamos quatro audiências em áudio e analisamos a construção de identidade de consumidor por meio de seus relatos nas audiências. A análise dos dados confirmou a riqueza de construções identitárias nas narrativas analisadas. Percebemos que os reclamantes constroem suas identidades a fim de se posicionarem como vítimas e posicionarem o seu oponente como vilão. Para isso, as estratégias mais frequentes por eles utilizadas são: a exploração de um grande número de repetições, a utilização de termos extremos e a incorporação de diferentes categorias identitárias.

Case Comment on Bérubé v. Rational Entertainment Ltd.

Acurious case came out of the Ontario courts last fall that may be a good omen for offshore private operators offering Internet gaming services to Canadian players. If the approach of other appellate courts is the same as in this case, operators could find themselves the beneficiaries of a general hands-off approach by Canadian courts based upon a lack of jurisdiction and a disclaimer of liability for illegal use of online gaming software. On Oct. 7, 2010, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Divisional Court) released its decision in Berube v. Rational Entertainment Ltd. Clotilde Berube was the plaintiff. She brought an action against the owner of PokerStars , among others, for money lost playing poker on (the Site) and for damages. The plaintiff’s claim—filed in summer 2009—proceeded quickly through the courts, even by Small Claims Court standards; in the fall of 2010, Ms. Berube’s appeal was dismissed by the Divisional Court. While Berube is a lower-court judgment (even at the Divisional Court level), with limited precedential value, and although it is only a part of a larger picture as far as the enforceability of Internet gaming debts in Canada, the decision signals a reluctance by the Ontario courts to interfere with private Internet gaming obligations, even where the operation of the games themselves are in a grey area under applicable Canadian law. While operators will no doubt cheer this development, players may not universally welcome this deference to contractual terms. OVERVIEW

Juizados Especiais: entre a legalidade e a legitimidade - análise prospectiva dos juizados especiais da comarca de Niterói, 1997-2005

A chamada judicialização das questões sociais e políticas tem provocado debates acerca do acesso à justiça e da legitimidade das decisões judiciais. Nesse contexto, resultante dos debates que precederam a constituição de 1988, os Juizados Especiais foram pensados como um modelo institucional alternativo ao judiciário estatal, formalista, burocrático e centralizado. Segundo o espírito das discussões então prevalentes entre os constituintes e a previsão constitucional fixada na época, os juizados especiais deveriam se dedicar à apreciação e ao julgamento de conflitos e crimes com pequeno potencial ofensivo, abrindo a sua composição para a participação de juízes leigos. Nesta pesquisa, nós analisaremos os litígios julgados nos Juizados Especiais de Niterói, estado do Rio de Janeiro, com os seguintes objetivos: a) contextualizar o problema da legitimidade das decisões dos Juizados Especiais, enfocando a oposição entre o modelo da legitimidade judicial estatal, burocrática e legalista e o modelo democrático de participação cidadã; b) estabelecer comparações entre a cultura jurídica brasileira e os padrões contemporâneos de legitimidade do judiciário; c) verificar a efetividade das decisões dos Juizados Especiais.

The <i>Small Claims Court Act:</i> Annotations and comments

Small Claims Courts are a familiar feature of our legal environment. Foreign in conception, they have extended their roots widely and deeply in South African soil. Their presence here is easily affirmed.

Access to Justice and Mediation in Small Claims Courts: Empirical Research and Statistical Analysis in Nine Brazilian States

The purpose of this papers is to assess the guarantee of qualified access to justice (article 5, items XXXV, and LXVIII, of the Federal Constitution) promoted by the Small Claims Courts, and has been guided by the parameter of adequacy. Considering mediation as the most appropriate way to solve small disputes, it provides an analysis and set of data about agreements rates in Brazilian Small Claims Courts. The grounds for such analysis is based on empirical data gathered from the database in the National Research on Special Civil Courts of the CEBEPEJ (Brazilian Center for Legal Studies and Research) and intents to objectively gauge the quality of services offered in the Small Claims Courts to the population.First of all, it presents a brief overview of Brazilian Special Civil Courts, describing its functioning and performance. Afterwards, the research, its methodology and its main goals are shown.Next, the adequacy of services offered by the Small Claims Courts is investigated, by means of its operation in the settlement, further investigating the influence of the nature of the demand and composition of litigants in the settlement rates obtained.

O princípio da eficiência e o Poder Judiciário

O princípio da eficiência do sistema judicial foi introduzida pela reforma do sistema judicial Constitucional (EC45/04). As alterações nos tribunais superiores eficaz e tribunais de pequenas causas, informatização, procedimentos virtuais, procedimentos rápidos e meios alternativos de resolução de conflitos são instrumentos úteis para alterar de administração judicial. A eficiência da administração foi revelada como um novo paradigma da gestão judiciária.

Formulating disputes

This paper analyzes the role of formulations in dispute resolution as portrayed on the court show Judge Judy. Formulations have been studied in various institutional settings, but no studies, to my knowledge, have examined their role in a small claims court setting. The data for this study come from the court show Judge Judy, presided over by Judge Judith Sheindlin, a former family court judge. In this televised small claims court, a new version of events is co-constructed out of various competing stories. This study illustrates how various types of formulations constrain and project subsequent interaction. Formulating parts of litigants accounts allow Sheindlin to transform the plaintiff's and the defendant's opposing stories into a new version of events on which she can base her judgment. Litigants may resist some of the transformations by disconfirming and repairing Sheindlin's formulations.

Creating monolingualism in the multilingual courtroom

This paper contributes to research that has identified an institutional bias towards monolingualism in the legal sphere (Eades 2003, Haviland 2003), investigating how this ‘monolingual worldview’ (Ellis 2006) affects interactions between speakers of minority languages and courtroom professionals in New York City Small Claims Court. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork and a data-set of 40 recorded arbitration hearings that include speakers of Spanish, Russian, Haitian Creole, and Polish, the paper shows that, while the courtroom itself is multilingual, all individuals besides the interpreters are expected to use one language only, even though most are multilingual to some degree. This ideology is evident in the common practice among legal professionals and interpreters to interrupt and discourage any use of English (i.e. codeswitching) by individuals who are accompanied by an interpreter. On the other hand, court users who avoid the use of English are frequently accused of deceit (‘pretending not to speak English’) by the opposing party. The court’s monolingual bias thus forces bilingual participants to act as monolinguals, thereby creating the appearance of monolingualism as the norm. It is argued that these practices inherently disadvantage minority speakers by preventing them from using the full range of their communicative abilities, and by making language choice a factor in the assessment of their credibility.

Brazilian Small Claims Courts and Effectivennes of Justice: An Empirical Research

The purpose of this paper is to assess the guarantee of qualified access to justice (article 5, items XXXV, and LXVIII, of the Federal Constitution) promoted by the State Special Civil Courts, and has been guided by three parameters: effectiveness, adequacy and reasonable length of process. The grounds for such analysis is based on empirical data, new in their majority, gathered from the data in the National Research on Special Civil Courts of the CEBEPEJ (Brazilian Center for Legal Studies and Research) and intents to objectively gauge the quality of services offered in the Small Claims Courts to the population. First of all, the paper develops the overview of the Special Civil Courts, describing its origins, purposes and main characteristics. As from this introductory explanation and from the preparation of theoretical-explanatory models, the subsequent sections assess the empirical data on the Special Civil Courts. Section II investigates the adequacy of services offered by the Small Claims Courts, by means of its operation in the settlement, further investigating the influence of the nature of the demand and composition of litigants in the settlement rates obtained. Section III deals with the timelines for lawsuits as they progress in Courts, making contrasts with the legally established terms. Finally, Section IV examines the effectiveness of the Special Courts, aiming at quantifying the cases in that, at the end of the lawsuits, the party in fact receives the resources to which such party is entitled - be it due to a favorable decision, or arising from an amicable agreement.

Brazilian Small Claims Courts and Qualified Access to Justice: An Empirical Study

Brazilian Small Claims Courts and Qualified Access to Justice: An Empirical Study

Process Matters: Disputant Satisfaction in Mediated Civil Cases

The present research uses data from randomly assigned small-claims court mediation cases in New Mexico to assess the role of procedural and structural factors shaping disputant satisfaction with mediation. Results underscore the degree to which factors explaining disputant satisfaction are under the control of mediators. This suggests ways in which satisfaction with mediation may be increased and the possibility that more effective use of mediation could help reduce time and resource expenditures in court litigation. Further policy implications include a call for continued mediator training and research and efforts to codify emerging knowledge in a manner helpful to mediators, disputants, and the public.

Os modelos conciliatórios de solução de conflitos e a "violência doméstica"

Os modelos conciliatórios de solução de conflitos têm ganhado uma importância cada vez maior nas propostas interessadas em dar celeridade ao Judiciário e ampliar o acesso da população à justiça. Esse artigo propõe uma reflexão sobre esse modelo, pautado no acordo e na conciliação, quando está em jogo a violência doméstica. Tomando como base estudos etnográficos sobre a Delegacia de Defesa da Mulher e os Juizados Especiais Criminais, o argumento central é que a conciliação ganha conteúdos muito distintos nessas duas instâncias do sistema de justiça. O contraste entre valores e simbologias postas em ação no fluxo dos processos nessas duas instâncias oferece elementos para a compreensão do contexto que levou à promulgação da Lei Maria da Penha, sancionada no dia 7 de agosto 2006, que retirou do âmbito dos Juizados Especiais Criminais os delitos que envolvem violência doméstica e familiar contra a mulher.

‘Speak English or what?’ Codeswitching and interpreter use in New York Small Claims Courts

Awarding Institution: New York University, USA
 
 Date of Award: May 2006

Can't pay? Won't pay? Managing debt in practice

BAD debts are one of the principal causes of high blood pressure in the offices of many veterinary practices, while slow payers are a hindrance to good cash flow and...

The Rental Housing Act and Provincial Rental Housing Tribunals

The process of lodging complaints, procedure and proceedings of the South African Rental Housing Tribunals. A dispute is either mediated by a mediator or heard before a panel of at least three commissioners / members. Proceedings are recorded; parties take an oath or an affirmation, lead evidence, cross-examine and in general, follow more or less formal court proceedings. The Tribunal has both an inquisitorial (like the small claims court) as well as an accusatorial approach. An inspection in loco may be held. The Rental Housing Act became law on 1 August 2000. It regulates the relationship of parties to a residential tenancy agreement. It informs tenant and landlord of residential dwellings about their rights, duties and responsibilities when they enter into or are about to conclude an oral (verbal) or written contract of lease.

OTTAWA Former tobacco salesman puts tobacco company on the back foot

A Canadian citizen has succeeded in a fight against a major Canadian tobacco company where well-funded government law suits have failed. On March 31, a small-claims court in Ontario found in favour of the plaintiff, a former tobacco salesman, and ordered a trial into claims that Imperial Tobacco bolstered addictive elements within cigarettes.

Small Claims Court Step by Step

The following information is based on my experiences in having initiated more than 100 Small Claims Court actions. In 90 cases, the defendant did not show up or provide a defense. In the remaining cases, the defendant did not bring an attorney. In only two cases was a counterclaim made, and each was dismissed as being without merit.

Voice and Context in Simulated Everyday Legal Discourse: The Influence of Sex Differences and Social Ties

Everyday legal discourse refers to the spoken language with which ordinary people constitute the law-in-action. In this article, we experimentally investigate the social distribution of rule- and relationally-oriented discourse found by ethnographers in small-claims court settings. We examine the influences of sex differences and social ties between disputants on these types of discourse in a mock small-claims setting using a quantitative content coding scheme. We do not find empirical support for sex differences in the production of simulated everyday legal discourse. The relational context of a dispute (operationalized as the strength of social ties between disputants) has significant effects on the distribution of rule- and relationally-oriented discourse, so that disputants in relationally-close contexts produce more relationally-oriented discourse and those in relationally-distant contexts produce more rule-oriented discourses than those in relationally-close contexts. With these findings as a backdrop, we discuss (1) the contextual nature of sex differences in everyday legal discourse; (2) discourse “switching” and emotional investment in personal relationships, and (3) applications for our coding scheme to studies of disputing frames.