Filing Several Small Claims

[rmljr]

What is the name of your state? Massachusetts
Can several small claims suits be filed against one defendant in order to circumvent the dollar limitation on any one small claims lawsuit.
I.E. the value of the lost/stolen goods exceeds $2000.
Can several suits be filed up to the limitation in order to reach a value of $6000.



If successful how does one perfect the claim.
There is a possiblity that the defendant (not a relative, but a house cleaner) will prevail in an insurance beneficiary claim due to her having what appears to be a valid signed beneficiary form from a deceased family member who was also blind. To say the least she was very crafty. I want to sue in small claims for items stolen and then attach the insurance proceeds that the court could award her. I want to be proactive and have all bases covered in the event I lose the insurance benefits. The criminal cases are pending and should result in a conviction for stealing the deceased possessions etc. and forging his signature at the US Postal Service.

Thanks in advance for any information.

 

[JETX]

"Can several small claims suits be filed against one defendant in order to circumvent the dollar limitation on any one small claims lawsuit."
*** Most states do not allow this. You will have to check with your local court to confirm that yours is one of them.

"If successful how does one perfect the claim."
*** Once you get a judgment, you get the thrill of trying to enforce it. The 'how-to' is determined by your state laws, and what they exempt from judgment enforcement. I suggest you go to a large bookstore or library and see what books they have on enforcing a judgment in your state.

 

[racer72]

I dealt with a similar issue a few months ago. If you can prove each claim is a separate and distinct claim, you may be able to file multiple claims. Using your dollar amounts for an example, if I had 3 transactions for $2000 with the same person, each transaction is separate and each transaction has its own billing, a claim can be filed for each transaction. But if at anytime I combined all the bills and the person then owed $6000 on one billing, I could not file separate lawsuits. If at anytime you made an attempt to collect the entire amount in one claim, you will have to file suit in a higher court, the claim cannot be separated for your convenience. Even if you could file separate claims, your debtor could just as easily ask for the cases to be combined at a higher court and most likely granted, and your plan would not work anyway.

 

[JETX]

Racer: Though accurate, your post would not apply in this case.
The writer said, "the value of the lost/stolen goods exceeds $2000" and then went on to claim $6000 damages. Writer further noted criminal charges being involved. So, clearly, the claim is for a total of $6000 in theft damages and not such that involves separate billing or invoicing.

 

[racer72]

I was aware of that. I was using my example of a way to file separate suits against the same person.

 

[JETX]

I know.... and I agree with you on the description of how a claim might be split into separate claims. However that scenario clearly does not apply in this situation.

 

[rmljr]

To clarify the scenario.
One claim will be for personal items and for the max allowed.
Another claim will be for damage done to an automobile as this person was the only one to drive it.