Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Illinois

I need to sue a contractor for septic work done in my field, which did nothing according to the contract we signed, but only caused further damage, without a permit on his part. Could I handle a case like this myself by filing the suit, to avoid legal costs which I do not have?


Asked on 2/29/12, 12:20 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Stephen Messutta

You can, and small claims court usually understands folks don't have the money to spend on an attorney so they don't make things too hard, but here's where you'll probably wind up with some issues: if the contractor hires an attorney to defend the case, because if so even with the court's "help" the attorney could dance rings around you. But you need to know whether your contract will award you attorney fees if you win, because you may be handling something on your own that an attorney might be paid by the contractor if you do win. So at least have an attorney look at the contract?

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Answered on 2/29/12, 4:20 pm


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