Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

Ianal, but afaik small claims are for purely money claims. I.e. you have to prove to judge/jury exact amount of your loss. It works well in case of fighting over debt. But more abstract damages are likely outside courts jurisdiction...

On the other hand... It is cheap to try and see what happens, as long as expectations are right.




I don't remember why I looked this up in Washington state, USA a while back (bad work by a plumber, I think) but here in WA I think there's also a rule/law that you can only take individuals to small claims court.

There's also a dollar limit ($4,000? Maybe 15 years ago?).

But yeah, by law you can't drag companies into small claims court. It's meant to settle minor things like your neighbor accidentally backing into (and damaging) your fence, etc.


10k limit in WA, and you definitely can sue businesses/corps in small claims.




Consider applying for YC's Fall 2025 batch! Applications are open till Aug 4

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: