The small claims court of the Kern County provides mediation programs for settling disputes outside of court, before or even after the filing of claims. In the mediation program, professional mediators try to resolve the issue by working with both the litigant and the defendant. The court provides bilingual mediators in both English and Spanish for this purpose. For detailed information on mediation, look up -http://www.valleymediation.net/KernCounty-i-12-12.html.

According to the common rules of the state of California, the small claims court of the Kern County can award a maximum of $7,500 to a person and $5000 to a business organization in damages. In a calendar year, a litigant can make claims of up to $2500 as many times as he wants, but for amounts above $2500, he can make only two claims per year.

The small claims court of Kern County allows you to take legal advice before or after the filing of the case. However, no attorney can represent you at the hearing.  The court also provides you the assistance of a small claims advisor, to guide you through the entire claims process. The services of the advisor can be availed on a first come, first serve basis. The advisor may be reached at (661) 868-2532 or if you want to talk to the advisor personally, consult the schedule to check her availability.

A small claims case can only be filed in the Kern County, if:

• The defendant resides in the Kern County if he is an individual, or if the defendant is a business organization, the main business is conducted in this county.
• Personal or property damage of the litigant occurred in this county.
• The defendant signed a contract in this county, the defendant lived in this county when the contract was made, a contract was to be fulfilled in this county or the defendant (a business enterprise) breached the contract in this county.

The forms for filing a small claims case can be obtained in person from the court premises, between 8.00 am to 4.00 pm, Monday to Friday. Alternatively, the forms may also be downloaded online. 

While returning the filled out forms, you must include two copies of the form along with the original, one each for the defendant and the litigant, and a stamped and self-addressed envelope. The small claims court has to be paid a fee while filing of the forms. For fee details, check the Kern County Courts website.

After the filing of the papers, a copy of the claim form has to be served to the defendant and a proof of service has to be submitted to the court. For more details regarding filing of small claims, visit http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/small_claims/file.shtml#forms.