CONSTRUCTION DEFECT JOURNAL

"News and Information for Construction Defect and Claims Professionals"

CONSTRUCTION DEFECT JOURNAL - ISSUE 242749 - WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19, 2025

The Small Stuff: Small Claims Court and Limited Civil Court Jurisdictional Limits

Courthouse

There are some strategic decisions clients and their attorneys can make to try to limit the economic cost of resolving legal disputes.

June 10, 2024
Garret Murai - California Construction Law Blog

Sometimes the small stuff matters.

And when it comes to legal disputes this can pose a problem for clients as well as their attorneys because litigation and arbitration, the two most frequently utilized venues to resolve legal disputes in the United States, can be and usually are expensive.

Data on the cost of civil litigation is sparse. According to a 2013 survey of trial lawyers conducted by the National Center of State Courts, the median cost of litigating a contract dispute – which is the category that most construction disputes would fall under – is $90,575. And this is in 2013 dollars. With inflation, that number rises to nearly $120,000 in 2023, and based upon our experience litigating and arbitrating complex (and even not so complex) construction disputes, it can be many multiples over that.

Mr. Murai may be contacted at gmurai@nomosllp.com


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