How do I sue someone in small claims court in Ohio?

Answered by ProctorLaw

This is general legal information, not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created. Talk with a licensed attorney about your situation.

Short answer: a $2,000 claim fits comfortably in small claims, which in Ohio handles money claims up to $6,000 (R.C. 1925.02), costs under $100 to file, and does not require a lawyer. You will probably win if your paperwork is in order. The harder part, as you suspect, is collecting, so I will cover that too. And because this is a contractor who took money and did not deliver, Ohio's consumer protection law may let you recover up to three times your loss.

Filing. File in the Parma Municipal Court, 5555 Powers Blvd., (440) 887-7400, if the contractor lives in the court's territory or if the work was to be done at your home in Parma (venue is proper where the defendant lives or where the claim arose, Civ.R. 3(C)). The current filing fee is $80 plus $20 for certified-mail service on each defendant. The complaint is a short sworn form: who, what happened, and the amount. Two things matter here. First, name the right defendant: check the Ohio Secretary of State business search; if he operates as an LLC, sue the LLC (and him personally if he signed as an individual or took the money personally). Second, ask for everything: the $1,000 you paid, plus the extra cost to have someone else finish the job over the original price, plus interest and court costs. The court sets a hearing 15 to 40 days after filing (R.C. 1925.04), in Parma typically four to six weeks out, before a magistrate. He can file a counterclaim or move the case to the regular docket (R.C. 1925.10), but most contractors in this position simply do not show up, in which case you get a default judgment.

What to bring. The contract or estimate, every text and email, proof of payment (bank record, check image, Cash App screenshot), dated photos of the half-finished deck, and a written estimate from another contractor to complete it. Organize it in date order and be able to tell the story in three minutes.

The consumer-protection angle. Ohio's Consumer Sales Practices Act applies to home improvement contractors. Accepting payment and then failing to deliver within eight weeks without a refund or an agreed new date is a deceptive practice under the Attorney General's rules (Ohio Adm.Code 109:4-3-09), and the Act lets a consumer recover three times actual damages (or $200, whichever is greater) for a practice previously declared deceptive, plus attorney fees if the violation was knowing (R.C. 1345.09). Small claims courts can award those treble damages (R.C. 1925.02(A)(2)(b)). So plead a CSPA count alongside the breach of contract. Also file a free complaint with the Ohio Attorney General's Consumer Protection Section (ohioattorneygeneral.gov); the AG's informal dispute resolution sometimes shakes a refund loose, and repeat complaints are how the AG builds enforcement cases. The CSPA deadline is two years from the violation (R.C. 1345.10). A police report for theft by deception (R.C. 2913.02(A)(3)) is possible if you can show he never intended to do the work, but police usually treat a stalled job as a civil matter.

If you win and he still does not pay. A judgment is a hunting license, not a check. The court will not collect for you; you do. Your tools, in the usual order:

1. Debtor's examination (about $40 in Parma): he is ordered to appear and answer under oath about his employer, bank, vehicles, and property (R.C. 2333.09). Many defendants pay once they are ordered to the exam.

2. Wage garnishment: if he has a W-2 job, you first send a 15-day "Notice of Court Proceeding to Collect Debt" demand letter (R.C. 2716.02), then file the garnishment ($115 in Parma). Up to 25 percent of his disposable pay comes to you each paycheck for six months, renewable (R.C. 2329.66(A)(13), 2716.05). Many contractors are self-employed, which is why the next tools matter.

3. Bank attachment ($55): if you learned his bank at the exam, the court freezes the account and pays you from the balance above a small exempt amount (R.C. 2716.11 to 2716.13).

4. Judgment lien: file a certificate of judgment with the Cuyahoga County Clerk of Courts ($20) to place a lien on any real estate he owns (R.C. 2329.02); it gets paid when he sells or refinances.

5. Vehicle levy is possible but expensive (a $400 deposit in Parma), usually reserved for a truck worth real money.

Judgments earn interest at the statutory rate, 7 percent for judgments entered in 2026 (R.C. 1343.03), go dormant if you do nothing for five years, and can be revived within ten years after that (R.C. 2329.07, 2325.18). Keep the judgment alive by taking some collection step every few years.

This is general information, not legal advice. If the contractor has assets, the attorney-fee provision in the CSPA can make it worth having a lawyer handle it even on a $2,000 case.

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