Simply winning at Small Claims Court does not guarantee you win money. Often collecting the money is difficult, impossible, or too expensive.
When we showed up with his competitor to tow his truck, he appeared with an envelope containing the full judgement in cash.
The guy was such an asshole, I would have gladly spent a few thousand dollars just to inflict pain and disruption upon him.
So if you were owed a couple thousand, this would not be worth paying to enforce. Unless you're made of money and highly principled (as a fellow pot-stirrer, my hat would be off to you).
[1] https://www.sdsheriff.gov/bureaus/court-services-bureau/civi...
This is the process. Small Claims, by nature, is for petty disputes between citizens.
These are local and state matters: some states respect private property and contractual arrangements more diligently than others.
It cost me only the $500 because they had a change of heart when the hook arrived. I was really disappointed, selling the vehicle would’ve been very satisfying.
Say the landscaping contractor screws up your yard, and you want a refund of the $2500 you paid. They refuse so you take them to Small Claims.
Let's say you win... what happens next? Usually nothing. You have a judgement you can rightfully enforce, but every path of enforcement is going to cost you more time and more money (wage garnishment, etc).
For such a relatively small amount of money, it can quickly become not worth while to collect.
For your county, you can look up what your local Sheriff Office charges to provide these services. Fees vary by location. Fees tend to stack as you have to file paperwork with multiple entities, etc. This all takes a lot of time as well, and you are not going to recover any of the enforcement expenses either.
The math is different in each situation - but you can see where it can often become not worth enforcement.
The court will not preemptively award estimated collection fees since you have not yet been burdened by them and they are unknown. It's not like a regular civil case where attorney's fees are known by time you are receiving judgement.