What is the difference between small claims court and civil court?

Small Claims court and Civil court are both types of courts used to resolve disputes between two or more parties. However, there are some key differences between them. In Massachusetts, Small Claims court is a court of limited jurisdiction and is used to resolve disputes between parties involving sums of money up to $7,000. The burden of proof in this court is "preponderance of evidence" meaning that the claimant needs to present evidence that is more convincing than not to win their case. Additionally, the process in small claims court is much simpler than in civil court and is less formal. On the other hand, Civil court is used to resolve disputes between parties involving sums of money greater than $7,000. The burden of proof here is "beyond a reasonable doubt" which means the claimant needs to present a large amount of evidence that is convincing enough to leave no reasonable doubt. Civil court also employs a much more formal process than small claims court, and sometimes requires the parties to hire lawyers or other legal counsel. Overall, the biggest difference between Small Claims court and Civil court is the amount of money being requested, the burden of proof, and the process involved. Small Claims court is best suited for small monetary claims, while Civil court is best suited for larger cases.

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What is the difference between small claims court and civil court?

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