Small claims court is where claims with a low monetary value are filed. All states vary; however, usually small claims court is for disputes worth less than $10,000. You do not need a lawyer to file a small claims case for you. Your local small court claims office will provide you with the forms you are required to submit. Like most disputes, the court will want to see that you have tried to solve the dispute in other ways before having the courts solve your dispute. A common use of small claims court is a landlord filing against a tenant for overdue rent.