small claims transferred to civil court

[Ben Taken]

we live in the state of nebraska and filed a claim against a local roofer in small claims court for the maximum amount allowed of $2,400, even though our damages exceeded $3,000. the defendent's attorney trasferred the case to civil court. we are representing ourselves at this time but have learned that we can amend the specifed amount of damages to a higher dollar amount. how is this done? the courthouse in our town has no idea what we're talking about.

thanks!
ben taken