Originally Posted by theking

Very...very often defendants do not appear for small claims court so they lose by default. Usually they do not appear because they do not have any intention of paying...and will leave it up to you to go to the expense...effort and cost of trying to collect.

Many small claims court only have a $5,000 dollar max...but some have a $10,000 dollar max...but that is not to say that some states may have a lesser amount or a greater amount.