Missouri's Small Claims Court Not The Answer For Most Small Claims
Many creditors with claims under the $3,000.00 small claims jurisdictional limit are availing themselves of the procedures available under Missouri law in the Small Claims Court, which is a division of the Circuit Court, Associate Circuit Judge Division.
While the procedures are fairly simple and the filing fee is less than that charged for a regular suit, there are many procedures that are not available for use with a judgment rendered in Small Claims Court.
Such a judgment is not a lien on real estate as is a regular court judgment. Post-judgment discovery and debtor's examinations are not available on such a judgment.
The small claims procedure should only be used when the creditor knows the exact location of the defendant's assets or source of defendant's income that will be used to satisfy the judgment. Otherwise, a regular lawsuit in the Circuit Court, Associate Division with a resulting judgment will give the creditor the full spectrum of remedies available under the law to collect the judgment.