State Court

Small Claims Court is a special section of a court where you can sue for up to $5000. You can only sue for money. You cannot sue to make someone do something or for pain and suffering.

ODR is a process, for the parties involved in the case, to discuss the issues with the help of a neutral third party outside of the courtroom. Items for discussion may include:

• Financial matters, such as the purchase and/or delivery of goods and/or services, division of debts and assets, spousal maintenance, and child support (if applicable);
• Developing a parenting plan with details regarding when the child(ren) will spend time with each parent;
• Decision-making responsibilities regarding any minor child(ren) common to the parties.

About 99% of cases filed in court are resolved without a trial, and many people go to the courthouse to reach a settlement on the date of a hearing or trial. ODR allows you the flexibility to try to settle your matter on your own time, quickly and easily online, all without going to court.

Other than the standard court filing fees, there is no cost to use the ODR system. The service is currently supported by the State Court.

After you setup a user name and password, you will land in your "conversation" or negotiation space where you will leave a message for the claimant that has brought this small claims case against you. You can use your negotiation space to "chat" about a solution. You will receive a text message and email when there is new information waiting for you in your negotiation space.

We have made the negotiation space very easy to understand and use. Should you choose to complete the process online, an agreement form will be created and you can sign it online and not have to go to court!.

If you are reading this online, you already have everything you’ll need to resolve your dispute. ODR works just as well on any mobile device that can access the internet. Just go to the site on your device's web browser to access it just like you would on a desktop or laptop computer.

There are many services that provide email addresses for free. The common services where you can sign up quickly are located at the following links (Not in order of preference).

Get a free Google email account by Clicking here

Get a free Yahoo! email account by Clicking here

Get a free AOL email account by Clicking here

If you do not know your case number, please contact the State Court or check your mailed summons.

You first need to be logged in to the ODR site in order to access your conversation space. Once logged in, you will need to click on the Conversation tab and it will place you in the conversations space where you can engage with the other party.

The negotiation space is private to you and the other party, and the system administrator. No one else has the ability to view your conversation. With very limited exceptions, such as threatening harm to another person, all discussions are confidential and cannot be used in court.

Participants generally find that negotiating outside of the court is more useful when they're prepared and have a plan. Having a plan means that you’ve identified your goals, assessed what the other party’s goals might be, and considered several possible settlement options that might work for you, as well as the other party. And keep in mind that quite often parties may respond to non-economic offers, like offering an apology or empathizing with their circumstance. Thinking through these things in advance will help you and the other participant reach an agreement that works for everyone.

Depending on the outcome of your case, you will be asked to sign an agreement form. Once you have agreed on a course of action or the case is dismissed, you will be presented with either a Stipulation for Entry of Money Judgment Against Defendant or a Stipulation to Dismiss.

It’s always helpful to think through terms that might be important in carrying out your agreement. Here are some terms that you might consider:

• General terms: address “who, what, when, where, and how” considerations.
• Future terms: if you’re interacting with each other in the future, how will you do that?
• Monetary terms: when, how, and to whom payments will be made?
• Future dispute resolution: what will you do if you have another dispute?
• Confidentiality: Is this agreement confidential? With whom can you talk about it?
• If there’s a pending court case, who will dismiss the lawsuit or file a consent judgment, and when?
• Any other terms you’ve agreed to.

Signed agreements are considered binding contracts, so you should make sure that you are satisfied with your agreement before signing it. You can also petition the State Court to attempt to have a judge vacate your agreement