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Florida Small Claims Questions & Answers
1 Answer | Asked in Small Claims for Florida on
Q: I hired a lawyer to collect a debt. The debt was settled outside of court but not by who I sued. do i owe the lawyer?

I hired a lawyer to collect a debt from A+B. A+B filed bankruptcy. Someone that knows A+B contacted me and paid the debt. Now the lawyer wants 25% of the money. And the lawyer has filed a suit against me...do i owe him?

Tim Akpinar
Tim Akpinar
answered on Sep 26, 2023

A Florida attorney could advise best, but your question remains open for two weeks. Until you're able to consult with a local attorney, the short answer is that it usually depends on the terms of the retainer or agreement. Good luck

1 Answer | Asked in Small Claims for Florida on
Q: How can I have a judgement that's been entered in against me since the process server filed a false return of service.

I was never served the paperwork for a lawsuit that had been brought against me. My fiance came across a court date that was scheduled for me when she was trying to get the court documents from a wrongful foreclosure we had at the beginning of the year and she noticed another court entry listed... View More

John Michael Frick
John Michael Frick
answered on Sep 12, 2023

File a timely motion for new trial or a timely appeal of the judgment.

2 Answers | Asked in Collections and Small Claims for Florida on
Q: Can I be held responsible for payments on a gift my ex bought me with a loan she took out while we were together?

I told her not to get it while we were together she is now not paying for it and wants me to take over the payments.

Joel Gary Selik
Joel Gary Selik
answered on Jul 20, 2023

If you did not take out the loan or co-sign, no you are not responsible to the lender.

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1 Answer | Asked in Small Claims for Florida on
Q: Does Small Claims form 7.343 have to be submitted to the court or directly to the Plaintiff only?

CASE NUMBER: 50-2022-SC-021234-XXXX-MB

Terrence H Thorgaard
Terrence H Thorgaard
answered on Jun 28, 2023

You should not file the completed fact information sheet with the clerk of court, because it contains personal information which you don't want the public to be able to access. Deliver it to the plaintiff, or (of the plaintiff is represented by an attorney) to the plaintiff's attorney.

1 Answer | Asked in Real Estate Law and Small Claims for Florida on
Q: In 2019 my mother passed away and left her florida home to my sister and me. I put forth a proposed amout to buy her out

Which she accepted and I wrote her a check. As executor of my mothers estate she authorized the home title change solely to me. Three years later I sell the home and she now is suing me for more money. What are my options and does she have any kind of case.

James Clifton
PREMIUM
James Clifton
answered on May 20, 2023

You would need an attorney to review the complaint she filed to figure out the basis of her claim. If there was a written agreement that clearly outlined that you were purchasing her portion of the house that she would inherit, that agreement would likely be upheld. If it was an oral agreement, you... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Small Claims, Contracts, Family Law and Collections for Florida on
Q: My daughter cosigned a car loan for an ex. He has since been arrested and hasn't paid. Apparently the girl he was with

Hiding the car and the leasing company can't repossess. My daughter is now incurring the bad credit. What can she do?

Rand Scott Lieber
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answered on Apr 11, 2023

For financial relief she can sue the ex in small claims court. Regarding the car, perhaps she can report it as stolen. Unfortunately her credit is going to take the hit because she cosigned, regardless of these other two possibilities.

2 Answers | Asked in Small Claims for Florida on
Q: Can i sue an ex for money I sent through cashapp as payment for a planned trip that never happened?

My ex invited me on a trip to costa rica and said we were going to split the resort and hotel cost so I sent my half and that very same week she was having car issues and called to borrow money for her car and said she would pay it back. We had a falling out the week after and now she wont send me... View More

Stephen Arnold Black
Stephen Arnold Black
answered on Mar 30, 2023

Yes an agreement can still be enforceable even if it is not in writing.

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1 Answer | Asked in Collections and Small Claims for Florida on
Q: What if they DIDN'T notify you prior to garnishing your wages? Can I get it desolved because of that?
Barry W. Kaufman
Barry W. Kaufman
answered on Jan 21, 2023

You are not notified prior to the garnishment. You should receive, or have received, a notice of your rights and an exemption form. Make sure the plaintiff's attorneys have your correct address.

1 Answer | Asked in Small Claims for Florida on
Q: I have a small c. court in Orange Cty. The sheriff was not able to serve the plaintiff and we have a new addrs in Tampa.

How do I proceed now? Do I need to file a new request with the new address to the Sheriff? Can they serve someone in Tampa?

Terrence H Thorgaard
Terrence H Thorgaard
answered on Jan 20, 2023

You would ask the Hillsborough County Sheriff to serve the summons.

1 Answer | Asked in Civil Litigation and Small Claims for Florida on
Q: I am being taken to small claims court as a defendant. I am a contractor and being sued. 3 years later

We removed the flooring in his home and his foundation was cracked. After giving him options of methods to proceed he said he would think about it. I then called him to see what he was going to do and he had hired another contractor to install his new flooring. Then demanded the balance of his... View More

Barry W. Kaufman
Barry W. Kaufman
answered on Jan 19, 2023

You are required to furnish the documents he requested within the timeframe he requested it. You should retain an attorney to defend yourself.

1 Answer | Asked in Small Claims for Florida on
Q: Can Defendant in Small Claims case change the scope of Plaintiff's complaint at the hearing?

I filed a Small Claims suit against my ex to pay half of shared $8,000 debt as specified in our divorce settlement. Ex has grievances on issues including child care and holidays, also specified in the divorce decree, and has engaged an attorney to represent her at Small Claims court. Can they... View More

Terrence H Thorgaard
Terrence H Thorgaard
answered on Jan 18, 2023

All of these issues should be addressed in the divorce case. The small claims case should be dismissed.

1 Answer | Asked in Car Accidents and Small Claims for Florida on
Q: If being stop at a stop light intersection and a cyclist strike your vehicle when you have a green light.

Police taken report, if drive of the vehicle was not a fault. What options would the driver have to proceed with this case? Drive was not injured, unknown status of cyclist.

Charles M.  Baron
Charles M. Baron
answered on Dec 16, 2022

If the driver was not injured, what does the driver need help with? I suggest you submit a new post to clarify that.

1 Answer | Asked in Employment Law, Employment Discrimination and Small Claims for Florida on
Q: I'm a 1099 contractor of service, I recently refused to sign a non compete, now client refuses to pay. What can I do?

I'm a independent contractor working for a cleaning service for the past 3 months. The owner of cleaning service has paid me every Saturday for work completed. However, they just recently asked me to sign a non compete. I politely declined and resigned from my services. Now the owner is... View More

Kevin Sanderson
Kevin Sanderson
answered on Oct 31, 2022

This is a concern. You worked the hours in question and the non-comp was not a part of the agreement.

1 Answer | Asked in Civil Rights, Constitutional Law and Small Claims for Florida on
Q: If I get dv battery charge dropped in fl, what lawful civil retribution should I do?

Filing false police report, pain n suffering like whole unnecessary arrest, imprisonment and court fees? Kicked out of own house after she already moved out due to can't return to scene she claimed. Forced to abandon dogs until trial is done.

Charles M.  Baron
Charles M. Baron
answered on Oct 15, 2022

Retribution means punishing for revenge. I assume that's not what you mean; that you instead mean to ask what legal action you can take to seek monetary compensation for your loss of liberty, economic losses, and emotional distress. You certainly may sue your accuser (your ex) for malicious... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Small Claims for Florida on
Q: I received a voluntary dismissal without prejudice. Can I file a motion for clarification and ask it to be changed?

I would like to motion the court for clarification of the "voluntary dismissal without prejudice" vs why the dismissal is not filed as "dismissal with prejudice". If no such reason is clarified and accepted by the court, can I ask the court to move the dismissal to that of "with prejudice"?

Terrence H Thorgaard
Terrence H Thorgaard
answered on Oct 8, 2022

If the plaintiff complied with Florida Small Claims Rule 7.110 (a) (1), the plaintiff can dismiss without prejudice. The plaintiff doesn't have to submit a reason.

See https://www-media.floridabar.org/uploads/2022/01/Small-Claims-Rules-10-28-2021.pdf

1 Answer | Asked in Small Claims for Florida on
Q: Do I file a motion to dismiss or strike or just ask to disregard uploaded e filed dockets? Self representation

I have a small claims pretrial hearing, and there have been dockets that were electronically uploaded through the e file service my county provides, and it duplicated ATTACHMENTS/EXHIBITS to PLEADING. also, two dockets failed to upload all the pages of the ATTACHMENTS/EXHIBITS to PLEADING. I am the... View More

Terrence H Thorgaard
Terrence H Thorgaard
answered on Sep 21, 2022

I suggest you bring this up at the pretrial hearing. It is extremely doubtful that redundancy or judicial confusion will be a problem. If some of the attachments are missing, ask that the defendant be ordered to supplement them.

3 Answers | Asked in Civil Litigation and Small Claims for Florida on
Q: If suing a LLC business, and the principal address and mailing address are different, which address should be served?

The business I am suing is an LLC and is also franchised. This will be a small claims case in the state of Florida. For the business I am suing, there is a principal address listed, a mailing address listed and also a registered agent name and address listed. Which of these addresses should receive... View More

Mark R. Osherow
Mark R. Osherow
answered on Sep 20, 2022

Florida Statutes 48.062, Service on a limited liability company. states:

(1) Process against a limited liability company, domestic or foreign, may be served on the registered agent designated by the limited liability company under chapter 605. A person attempting to serve process...
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1 Answer | Asked in Civil Litigation and Small Claims for Florida on
Q: Can I obtain possession of my sister's ashes when I paid all expenses?

My sister passed 9/2021. I paid all expenses, equaling over $2,000, because my BIL did not have the funds. He picked up her remains since he was the husband. Now he is refusing to allow us access to her children and my mom has always wanted some of her ashes. Would I be able to be awarded... View More

Barry W. Kaufman
Barry W. Kaufman
answered on Sep 4, 2022

No, sorry. He is entitled by law to her ashes because he was married to your sister at the time of her death. If you can prove that the money you paid was a loan, and not a gift, you may be able to prevail in a small claims lawsuit against him. You'd have to sue him in Florida. Be forewarned... View More

2 Answers | Asked in Consumer Law, Contracts and Small Claims for Florida on
Q: Hello, we are in need of legal advise as to whether we should sue in small claims court.

We hired a couple to do epoxy floors on our garage floors. They said their product came with a 6 year warranty. We paid them $800 and after a month, the flakes started coming up. We contacted them to fix the issue and it was one excuse after another. They offered us a refund and to re-do our... View More

Barry W. Kaufman
Barry W. Kaufman
answered on Aug 31, 2022

The only avenue open to you, with any chance of success is small claims court. If you prevail to judgment, you are entitled to costs. Make certain that you sue the correct legal entity. Many clerks have information and forms on their websites. You can find the Florida Small Claims Rules online.

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1 Answer | Asked in Employment Law and Small Claims for Florida on
Q: Is there any reason I would be exempt from my bonus?

1.8 years ago I referred an employee to my company during a referral bonus promotion, 5K after three months of her employment, and another 5K after one year. She was hired and started work last Sept. I received the 5K bonus after 3 months (but had to “nudge” the regional director and payroll to... View More

Terrence H Thorgaard
Terrence H Thorgaard
answered on Aug 31, 2022

Yes, without looking at the paperwork, it looks like you will be entitled to the additional $5,000 on September 15th.

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