How much can I sue for in small claims court in Massachusetts?
Answered for: Massachusetts
There shall be within the district court department and the Boston municipal court department a simple, informal and inexpensive procedure, hereinafter called the procedure, for the determination, according to the rules of substantive law, of claims in the nature of contract or tort, other than slander and libel, in which the plaintiff does not claim as debt or damages more than $7,000; provided, however, that a city or town may bring an action under section 35 of chapter 60 for the collection of unpaid taxes on personal property in any amount or any other action which shall not exceed $15,000; and provided further, that said dollar limitation shall not apply to an action for property damage caused by a motor vehicle, and for a review of judgments upon such claims when justice so requires.
The statute sets the small claims limit at $7,000, CONDITIONAL. The $7,000 cap does NOT apply to an action for property damage caused by a motor vehicle (no limit stated). A city or town may sue for unpaid personal property taxes in any amount, or bring any other action up to $15,000.. That figure is the one the section states; the words above are the section itself.
This answer is true in Massachusetts and nowhere else on this site. Another jurisdiction is another answer, or an honest gap: see what has been read for Massachusetts.