Small Claims Division Information
The small claims division is designed to allow individuals to settle certain disputes in court with relaxed rules of the procedure without attorneys. If any party in a small claims case obtains an attorney, the case is automatically transferred to the civil division. Individuals are allowed to sue in small claims court for different types of damages. Small claims court is often used as a means to recover money for damages to personal property, to recover personal property, or to settle disputes involving contracts. All claims are limited by a set dollar amount, which is set by state law. The current amount of a claim cannot exceed $5,000.00 in the small claims division. (Administrative Order 18. Administration of District Courts)
No action can be brought in small claims court by a collection agency, collection agent, assignee of a claim, or by any person, firm, partnership, association, or corporation engaged, either primarily or secondarily, in the business of lending money at interest. By definition, this includes credit bureaus and collection agencies.
Corporations, that are not classified as lending institutions, which have been organized under the laws of the State of Arkansas, have which have no more than three stockholders or in which eighty-five percent or more of the voting stock is held by persons related by blood or marriage within the third degree of consanguinity may sue or be sued in small claims court. An officer of the corporation is required to sign all documents about the action and must appear in court for all hearings and trials. (Administrative Order 18. Administration of District Courts)
Court clerks are prohibited from giving legal advice, giving recommendations on your case, filling out forms on your behalf, or performing any investigative work for you. The court clerk’s main purpose is as an unbiased keeper of the records.
To File a Small Claims Case
1. FILING FEE - The State Legislature sets the filing fee for Small Claims cases. The fee is currently $65.00 and must be paid by cash, check, or money order at the time of filing your case.
2. FORMS TO FILE - The form to file a small claim may be picked up at the City of Springdale District Court. The small claim form to file is not available online nor can they be faxed or e-mailed. The small claim form must be completed and signed at the time of filing. If you have copies of a contract, receipts, etc. that you wish to be part of your file, please provide copies of those at the time of filing.
3. ROLES - The person(s) or business filing a small claim will be known as the plaintiff(s), and the person(s) or business being sued will be known as the defendant(s).
4. SERVING THE DEFENDANT(S) - Once the small claim case has been filed, the defendant(s) in the case must be served the complaint within 120 days of the filing of the complaint. There are 3 methods to having a defendant(s) served. The following methods are:
Certified Mail Restricted Delivery
Process Servers
Sheriff's Office - Washington County / Benton County (or another county if applicable)
To find a Corporation's Registered Agent for service call 1-888-233-0325 or visit the Arkansas Secretary of State’s website
Certified Mail-Restricted Delivery: Once the paperwork has been prepared, the court clerk will provide the plaintiff(s) with the paperwork to take to the post office to mail.
Process Servers: If this method is chosen, the court clerk will supply the plaintiff(s) with a list of authorized process servers and their contact number. The plaintiff(s) will make arrangements for the process server to pick up the paperwork and pay them directly. Please be advised the court clerk is prohibited from recommending a process server.
Sheriff's Office: The plaintiff(s) will be provided the paperwork to take to the proper sheriff's office, where the plaintiff(s) will pay the sheriff’s office directly. The court clerk will provide a map and directions to the Washington County Sherriff's Office.
If the service time is running out, the plaintiff(s) may request 1 extension of time to perfect service; allowing an additional 120 days to serve the defendant(s). If the complaint is not served within the allotted time, the case is dismissed without prejudice.
5. DEFENDANT’S ANSWER - A form will be provided to the defendant(s) with the complaint at the time of service so that the defendant(s) may file an answer to the complaint. The defendant(s) have thirty (30) days from the date they are served in which to file an answer to the complaint. It may be brought to the clerk’s office, mailed, or faxed to (479) 750-8564 to be filed. The defendant(s) are required to send a copy of the answer to the plaintiff(s) and the court clerk’s office. ANSWER FORM
IF YOU ARE THE DEFENDANT - in a small claim and have received a complaint and summons, or an order or notice to appear in court, this means you are being sued. If you do not know why you are being sued, contact the plaintiff(s). Not answering a complaint or not appearing in court could result in a default judgment or a body attachment issued against the defendant(s).
6. TRIALS AND HEARINGS - Once the complaint has been served and an answer has been filed or the thirty (30) days in which to file an answer has passed, the court may set a hearing or trial to hear evidence. Both parties must bring with them to trial all witnesses, documents, contracts, letters, pictures, bills, or evidence necessary to prove their claim or defense. If the testimony of a witness is not willing to attend the trial, a subpoena should be requested from the court, no later than ten (10) days before the trial date. Subpoena requests must be submitted to the court in writing and must include sufficient information for the subpoena to be served. It is the responsibility of the party requesting the subpoena to have it served and to pay the filing and service fees to do so. The various types of hearings are listed below:
Trial: A trial is scheduled when the defendant(s) answers the complaint and denies part or all of the allegations outlined in the complaint. The plaintiff(s) and defendant(s) will bring all evidence and witnesses to court and the judge will hear the case and enter a judgment based on the evidence.
Default Hearing: If the defendant(s) fails to answer the complaint, the plaintiff(s) can request a hearing. The defendant(s) is notified of the hearing. However, the defendant(s) may not be allowed to enter any evidence in the case, because they failed to file an answer as required. The plaintiff(s) will show their proof of debt to the judge and the judge will enter a judgment based on the evidence.
Consent/Agreed Judgment: If the defendant(s) files an answer admitting to the allegations outlined in the complaint a hearing is scheduled for the plaintiff(s) to present evidence of the allegations outlined in the complaint.
Hearing: A hearing may be set so evidence and/or argument may be presented to determine some issue or fact of law. For instance, a hearing may be set to determine if a case should be dismissed based on the motions filed by the defendant(s) or to determine if a party should be held in contempt for failing to follow an order of the court.
7. JUDGMENTS - A judgment is entered in a case once the defendant(s) has been served and the judge has reviewed the merits of the case. If the plaintiff(s) has met the burden of proof, the judge will issue one of many types of judgments. Below is a list of some of the judgments that are commonly used in district court:
Default Judgment Against the Defendant: A default judgment is entered when the defendant fails to answer the complaint within the specified time.
Judgment on the Pleadings: This type of judgment is entered when the defendant answers the complaint by admitting the debt is owed but has not agreed to pay the debt.
Judgment Against the Defendant: This judgment is entered against the defendant(s) in open court when the plaintiff(s) prevails in the case.
Judgment For the Defendant: This judgment is entered in open court when the plaintiff(s) fails to prove their case. This type of judgment dismisses the case against the defendant(s).
Dismissal Without Prejudice: This is a dismissal of the case against the defendant(s) which allows the case to be re-filed within one year.
Dismissal With Prejudice: When a dismissal with prejudice is entered, the case cannot be brought back before the court.
Once the judge decides the type of judgment to be entered, the judge will then determine the monetary amount of the judgment. Judgments have a life span of ten (10) years. A writ of scire facias may be filed and if granted, the judgment will be revived and collectible for an additional ten (10) years.
If the court rules in your favor and a judgment is entered. While a judgment carries legal weight, it may be difficult to collect. Collecting the judgment can be one of the most challenging aspects of any lawsuit. THE COURT DOES NOT COLLECT THE MONEY FOR YOU.
Judgments are a matter of public record. The district court does not report to any credit reporting agency; however, these agencies come to the court to retrieve judgment information to place on the losing party’s credit record.
8. SCHEDULE OF PROPERTY - If a monetary judgment is entered against the defendant(s), the following paragraph is included in the body of the judgment:
Under Ark. Code Ann. Section 16-66-221, whenever any resident of this state has any final judgment order of a court of record entered against them. A schedule of property, verified by affidavit, of all their property, both real and personal, including monies, bank accounts, rights, credits, and choses in action held by themselves or others for them and specify the particular property which they claim as exempt under the provisions of the law.
The defendant’s schedule of exempt property must be filed with the clerk of the court within forty-five (45) days of entry of the final judgment order. The schedule of property is used to assist the plaintiff(s) in the collection of the judgment. If the defendant(s) fails to file the schedule of property, the plaintiff(s) may request a hearing to bring the defendant(s) before the court to show cause why the defendant(s) should not be held in contempt of court for failing to file a schedule of property. SCHEDULE OF PROPERTY SCHEDULE OF PROPERTY (ESPANOL)
9. APPEAL - Either party may file an appeal within thirty (30) days from the date of the judgment. The district court clerk must prepare and certify such records when requested by the appellant. The appellant must request the record in writing to the clerk and take into consideration the amount of time it may take to prepare the transcript of the record. A transcript fee will be assessed for each case that is prepared for an appeal. The appellant has the responsibility to file the transcript record in the office of the circuit clerk. Please check with the circuit clerk’s office for the appropriate filing fee. APPEAL REQUEST
Once the case is appealed, the case is tried “de novo”, which means the circuit court will hear the case as if it was never heard in district court. The prevailing party may continue to collect the judgment in district court unless an appeal bond or a supersedeas bond has been posted.
10. COLLECTION - The prevailing party is required to wait ten (10) days from the date of judgment before attempting to collect the judgment. If the judgment is not paid, the prevailing party may file the following orders to collect the judgment:
Writ of Garnishment: This is an attachment on the debtor’s bank, their wages, or any other obligation owed to the judgment debtor. With this writ, an employer, bank, or anyone else owing the judgment debtor money, is ordered to subtract a certain amount of the defendant’s paycheck until the judgment is paid. The clerk’s office has a writ of garnishment form and a clerk must issue the garnishment to be sent to the employer or bank and a copy must be mailed to the person being garnished informing them of the garnishment. The writ of garnishment filing fee is $10.00 to be paid at the time the writ is issued. The court clerk is prohibited from assisting or filling out forms for the prevailing party.
The bank or the debtor’s employer has thirty (30) days to file an answer to the writ of garnishment. Failure by the bank or employer to answer could result in the judge entering a judgment against the bank or employer.
Writ of Execution: This writ advises the sheriff to take the property of the defendant (i.e., vehicle, TV, stereo, etc.) and sell these items at a public auction. The money from the sale goes first, to satisfy the sheriff’s costs of conducting the sale and secondly to satisfy the judgment. The clerk’s office has a form to file a writ of execution. The court filing fee is $10.00 for the writ of execution. The clerk is prohibited from filling out this form for you. The filed writ of execution must be taken to the sheriff's office where an approximate fee of $120 is to be paid. The court clerk is prohibited from assisting or filling out forms for the prevailing party.
11. SATISFACTION or RELEASE - Once the debtor has paid the judgment debt in full, the judgment creditor must file a satisfaction or release of judgment. The satisfaction can be used by the debtor to prove to any future creditors that the judgment has been paid and the collection has ceased. If the judgment creditor has placed a lien on the debtor’s property, the judgment creditor must file a certified copy of the satisfaction with the circuit clerk's office in the county where the property is located. Satisfaction of Judgment
12. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -