Should You Sue? How Much It Really Costs to Sue Someone (and When It’s Not Worth It)

How much it costs to sue someone depends on which court your case lands in and whether you hire a lawyer. Filing in small claims court costs a few hundred dollars. Once lawyers are involved, a claim of $12,000 to $15,000 can cost $5,000 to $10,000 in legal fees. And 90% of the time, Anton Kaminsky of Kaminsky Law says his answer to “should I sue?” is don’t.

Below is how Anton thinks through whether a lawsuit is worth it: what it costs, what you can realistically recover, whether the other side can even pay, and when settling makes more sense.

Should You Sue? Why a Lawyer Says “Usually Not”

Most of the time, the answer is don’t sue, or at least think very carefully before you do. That may sound strange coming from a firm that prides itself on being aggressive for its clients. Kaminsky Law is aggressive once a case gets started. The question Anton wants people to ask first is whether they need to go there at all.

Before suing, Anton suggests asking yourself:

• What are my damages?
• How much am I willing to spend on this? Not just money, but time and stress.
• Am I throwing good money after bad?

Many people who call a law firm are very emotional. Somebody ripped them off, and they want to punish that person. As the saying goes, principle doesn’t pay interest. Anton has been in the situation many times where a client spends more money than they’re out trying to get it back, and then blames the lawyer who tried to talk them out of it on day one.

A useful first step is to take a breath. Then, in a less emotional state, picture how a neutral third party would see your contract dispute, because a judge or jury is exactly that.

How Much Does It Cost to Sue Someone?

The cost to sue someone ranges from a few hundred dollars in small claims court to thousands of dollars in legal fees once a lawyer handles the case. Here is how the costs break down in Pennsylvania, from cheapest to most expensive:

1. Small claims court. You fill out one piece of paper, pay the few hundred dollars it costs to file, and get a hearing date in a few months. You show up, argue your position, and you could be done. You don’t need a lawyer.
2. Arbitration. You still file a complaint, you might do some limited discovery, and you get a hearing date within a year.
3. Court of Common Pleas. The most expensive option, because it means full-on lawyers going through the whole process.

What a lawyer costs compared to what you’re owed

The real cost question is how much of your claim you are willing to spend to recover it. If you’re suing for $12,000 to $15,000, you might have to pay a lawyer $5,000 to $10,000. As Anton puts it, “What’s the point of paying me 10 grand to go maybe win 12?”

Take a $20,000 claim. Is it reasonable to spend 25% of it to collect? 30%? 50%? If you spend more than $5,000 to $7,000 trying to collect $20,000, in Anton’s view you’re going to be unhappy even if you win. If you lose, you’ll be really unhappy.

For smaller claims in the $5,000 to $7,000 range, the numbers get worse. Kaminsky Law would take at least a $5,000 retainer, or even with a smaller $3,000 retainer with a junior lawyer handling it. That’s already half of what you’re trying to recover.

The costs people forget

Even a strong case carries costs beyond the fees:

• You can lose. Lawsuits aren’t guaranteed. The judge might not agree with you, or the jury might not believe you.
• They can appeal. Some people appeal for no reason, which adds more expense. Win in small claims, and the other side can appeal and make you do it all again. Anton compares it to the line from A Bronx Tale: “now you can’t leave.”
• Your time and stress. These belong in the “how much am I willing to spend” column alongside the money.

Questions to ask a lawyer about cost

When a lawyer pitches themselves to you (“we’re really aggressive, we’ll pursue this on your behalf”), it makes sense to ask how much the case could cost you and whether they’re the right lawyer for it. A key question: is that $5,000 a retainer the firm bills against, meaning the case could end up costing $20,000, or is it a flat fee to handle a small claims case from beginning to end?

Anton tries to avoid cases where the dispute is less than $50,000 to $100,000. When a client insists, one of the firm’s associates typically handles it with his oversight to keep costs down, since an associate’s hourly rate is lower. Some lawyers run volume practices focused on small claims or arbitration and can make those cases work financially. If that appears to be the case, Kaminsky Law will usually refer out those cases to another firm.

Does your contract have an attorney’s fees clause?

Whether you have a written agreement matters, and so does whether it says the winner recovers their attorney’s fees. A fees provision is a hammer that can push the other side to settle: you’re both going to spend money on this, but they’ll have to pay back yours at the end, so it makes sense for them to be reasonable now.

Which Pennsylvania Court Will Hear Your Case?

The amount you claim decides which court hears your case. Pennsylvania has more than three sets of courts, but these three matter most for this decision:

• Small claims court: claims under $12,000
• Compulsory (mandatory) arbitration: claims between $12,000 and $50,000
• Court of Common Pleas: claims above $50,000

There are also appeals, voluntary arbitration outside the court system, and mediation (see our comparison of mediation, arbitration, and litigation). Our guide to small claims court, arbitration, and the Court of Common Pleas covers each one in more detail.

Whoever files the lawsuit states what their damages are. If they say their damages are over $50,000, the case goes to the Court of Common Pleas by default.

That gives you a choice when your claim sits just above a threshold. If someone owes you $14,000, suing for the full amount puts you in arbitration, a more intensive process. It might be wise to agree to limit your damages to $12,000 so you can file in small claims court, with its one-page form and quick hearing.

What Are Your Damages, Really?

Your damages are usually limited by your contract, not by how much the dispute has upset you. Being realistic about that number is the first step in deciding whether to sue.

Anton uses a running example. A contractor agrees to build out your backyard for $100,000. The work is done badly. You’ve paid $50,000, the contractor thinks they’re owed the other $50,000, and you think you shouldn’t have to pay it.

Now say you call a lawyer and explain that this has taken an emotional toll: you haven’t been able to sleep, and you’ve had to keep coming home from work to yell at the contractors, so your damages are $2 million. Anton’s response is that you’re not going to recover that. In a contract case, damages are typically confined by the contract and what could have arisen from it.

If you missed work or lost your job because of the dispute, that maybe is a damage. But the emotional distress of fixing up your backyard is not something anyone is going to award you. Before you even call a lawyer, put yourself in the shoes of the judge or jury who will hear the case at the end.

Contract vs. tort: when it’s more than a contract dispute

Courts typically separate contract damages from tort damages. A contract claim arises out of an agreement. A tort arises out of a duty someone owes you regardless of any agreement, like the duty not to punch you in the face. An injury to you as a person is treated differently than an injury to your money or property.

A simple test: if the duty you’re thinking of suing over arises from your agreement, it most likely falls under contract. If it arises from something separate and apart from the contract, it would be a tort.

In the backyard example:

• The contractor brought the wrong boulders, or fake ones. That falls under contract.
• The contractor took your money and stopped showing up, for example walking away after $10,000 of work when you’d paid the full $100,000. That is probably contract but it could turn into a tort.
• The contractor starts telling people in your community that you’re a criminal or cheating on your spouse. That’s defamation (libel or slander), completely separate from the contract.

Truth is a defense to defamation. If you owe someone $50,000 and they tell people you owe them $50,000, that isn’t defamation. If you both disagree about the amount, a defamation claim tied to that contract dispute is tenuous at best.

Do You Need a Lawyer for Small Claims Court?

Usually not. Small claims court is set up to help people resolve small disputes, and you can file and argue your own case. When damages are in the $5,000 to $7,000 range, Kaminsky Law advises a lot of people to go to small claims on their own, since a retainer would eat up half the claim.

If you’re out less than $12,000, it may make sense to try small claims yourself first and go to a lawyer after. As Anton puts it, maybe it’s better for you to lose five grand than to lose ten grand.

What happens if you lose in small claims court?

If you lose in small claims court, you can appeal. The appeal typically goes to arbitration, and it’s heard de novo, meaning anew. Everything said and done in small claims court is treated as if it didn’t happen. The same is true in reverse: if you win, the other side can appeal, and you’ll have to do it again.

When a lawyer does make sense in small claims

There are a few situations where bringing a lawyer to small claims court makes sense:

• You’re very nervous about speaking, or need someone to be your voice.
• You don’t speak English well. It isn’t just the speaking. It’s reading the documents that come in and understanding how the process works. Kaminsky Law is a Russian-speaking firm, with at least someone at every level, from paralegals and clerks to lawyers, who speaks Russian, and Anton has worked with many people whose English is limited.
• You run a small business and your time is worth more on the job. A plumber, for example, may make more money in the field than they’d lose in small claims court. They can send a lawyer along with an employee who knows the facts, because the lawyer can’t testify on the client’s behalf. A solo plumber, though, has to come in, since they’re the one with the information.
• You’re a bigger company. The owner has no business being there. These are usually existing clients for whom small claims work is part of an ongoing relationship.

Sending only a lawyer could hurt you somewhat in the judge’s eyes. And in Anton’s view, smaller and larger businesses alike should have an attorney on retainer.

Can You Sue Someone With No Money? What “Judgment Proof” Means

You can sue someone with no money, but you may never collect. Winning a judgment with nowhere to collect from is almost as bad as losing. You have a victory that isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on.

Who you’re suing changes the math:

• A large, viable company. If it loses, chances are it will pay. Big companies are also more likely to settle, because a loss might be public or bigger, and they take a business approach, weighing what they’ll spend on a defense. Suing a viable business that is still making money is an easier decision, leaning toward yes.
• A contractor who disappeared with your $12,000. You could sue him, but you might never find him. Even if you find him and get a judgment, he might not have a penny to pay you. Even if you win, you still lose.

If the person can’t pay, that’s another mark in the “don’t sue” column. You can still sue on principle. Anton has done it, especially for larger amounts. You might not sue on principle over $5,000, but you might over $500,000, to make sure the person never does it again.

Signs someone is judgment proof

Kaminsky Law usually researches the people it is about to sue before filing. Some people are what lawyers call judgment proof:

• They owe huge back taxes. If someone has a tax lien for hundreds of thousands of dollars, suing them won’t change anything. You won’t recover money.
• They already have a stack of judgments. If others already hold judgments for hundreds of thousands of dollars, yours will be just one more in a line of 20.
• Their assets are in their spouse’s name. A judgment against one individual can’t be collected from assets they own jointly with their spouse.

There are many ways to collect on a judgment, but it’s a messy process. Kaminsky Law usually refers collection work out.

How to Pitch Your Case to a Lawyer

When you contact a lawyer, you’re pitching your case, so lead with the facts that move the needle. Here is how intake works at Kaminsky Law:

1. You call the office and speak with a paralegal or junior lawyer, who asks for the information needed to review your case: the contract if it’s a contract dispute, a screenshot if someone posted something about you online, the operating agreement and communications if it’s a shareholder dispute.
2. A more senior lawyer reviews it.
3. If the firm can help, it schedules a call to go through the details. If it can’t, it tries to tell you right away, and may refer you to someone else.

People often dislike giving their information to anyone other than the lawyer who will review it, but it’s a screening process, and it works best when you cooperate with it.

What to prepare

Have a summary ready: a few bullet points and the relevant documents. The hardest cases to screen are the ones where someone emotionally attached to their case sends a 10-page timeline and a 50-page analysis of a three-page contract. What Kaminsky Law asks for instead:

• Your elevator pitch. How would you explain the story in an elevator?
• The three best facts for you, and the three worst facts for them.
• The one or two most important documents, such as emails or the agreement.
• What’s happened so far.

A good example, using the backyard case: “We signed an agreement for $100,000. He did $50,000 of the work. The work isn’t satisfactory. He’s not coming back. I’m not paying him. We’re stuck.”

Lead with the Rolex

Anton gives an example from a shareholder dispute. A business owner says their partner is spending on the corporate credit card without authorization: gas at the gas station, groceries at Giant, maybe $100 to $200 a month. That’s not much to sue over, and each purchase has several innocent explanations. But if the partner bought a Rolex on the company card, the gas and groceries don’t matter anymore. The Rolex has very few explanations. Lead with the facts that jump out.

“What are they going to say you did wrong?”

One of the best questions Anton has learned to ask is: what are they going to say you did wrong? Put yourself in the shoes of the person you’re threatening to sue. Some cases are open and shut, such as someone simply stealing your money. In others, a client isn’t seeing the other side of the story. A lawyer can be halfway into a lawsuit before learning the client lied, didn’t understand the contract or their obligations, or was indecisive without realizing it would cost them more money.

Why You Should Tell Your Lawyer the Bad Facts

Telling your lawyer the bad facts up front protects your case. Kaminsky Law is a civil firm, not a criminal one, and Anton wants to know the bad facts.

There are several reasons:

• Juries see through you. Jurors may not consciously know it, but they get a feeling when something is off. If the other side knows the bad fact you’re hiding, they will rub your nose in it after you’ve finished presenting your case.
• Judges see through you even more. A jury is usually 12 or 8 people (some places use 6), and most jurors don’t hear disputes all day. In a bench trial, the judge decides, and a judge has heard these stories every day for years. You’re not going to slip something past them.
• Lead with the bad facts. Acknowledge the fact that doesn’t go your way, then show everything that does. Anton compares it to Eminem’s final battle in 8 Mile: say everything they’re going to say about you first.
• Your lawyer needs to know so they can figure it out. Lawyers become frustrated with clients who conceal something they discover only after spending a lot of time, money, and effort on the case.
• It points you toward settlement. If you know about a bad fact the other side hasn’t found yet, that’s a reason to settle before they can use it.

What to look for in a lawyer

Lawyers used to be called counselors. Anton describes his job as putting himself in the shoes of a neutral person and of your adversary, then counseling you on how to approach the case. Especially for big cases, look for a lawyer who is aggressive but also real and upfront with you, not one who sells you fool’s gold and tells you “you’re going to win, buddy.” When you’re on defense, a good lawyer will also tell you when you’re in a tough spot and where the end of the road is, and then work with you on how to solve it.

When to Settle Instead of Going to Court

Settlement belongs in the conversation at every step, before you sue and after. Most people don’t think about it until they’ve spent money and their lawyer is pushing it on them: “You have a 50% chance of winning. You say you’re owed $20,000, they’ll pay $16,000, and you’ve already paid me $5,000. What do you think?”

Do the math first

Start by taking account of your damages and what it will cost to recover them, then weigh both against the probability you’ll actually recover. That probability is never 100%. A clear breach of a written contract is higher. A he-said, she-said dispute without a contract is lower. Everybody thinks they’re going to win, but you can spend money and still lose.

Then ask two questions:

• How much good money am I going to throw after bad money?
• What amount would I take to be done right now?

On a smaller claim, settling can make everyone whole. Few people can write a check for $50,000 unless they’re a big company. But on a $10,000 claim, the other side might write you two checks of $3,500. You accept $7,000, and everyone walks away without spending any more money.

The poker analogy

Anton compares a lawsuit to Texas Hold’em. At the start you have your two cards, say a pair of kings, and your hand looks like the best thing on earth. But the other side could be holding aces, and you don’t know it. Then the flop comes, and suddenly your kings don’t look so good.

In real life, the flop happens all the time. A client says their contractor botched everything, ran late, and is demanding extra money. Kaminsky Law usually starts with a letter saying it would like to resolve things. The contractor responds with 10 pages of text messages showing the client wanted a wall painted green, then red once it was green, and didn’t want to pay for the extra paint or time. Now the client’s kings are worthless.

Respond to lowball offers instead of walking away

Someone might make a nonsensical offer: you think you’re owed $12,000, and they offer $2,000. A lot of people flare up and head straight to a lawyer. Maybe instead you come back with $10,000 and see what they say. Settlement conversations should happen constantly.

How discovery leads to settlement

In a lawsuit, discovery is when both sides exchange documents and take depositions. It does two things: it closes the door on arguments the other side might make once they’ve committed to a position, and it finds the smoking gun, the one fact that will win the case if a jury sees it. Once you have that fact, the move is to hold it up and say: when I show this to the world, you’re going to lose, so why don’t we settle now?

Cost to Sue Someone: FAQ

Talk to Kaminsky Law

Kaminsky Law focuses on larger business disputes and high-value tort claims, and the firm tries to tell people right away if a case isn’t a fit. If you’re weighing a lawsuit and want a candid read on whether it’s worth pursuing, contact Kaminsky Law.

Related Reading

• Are verbal agreements binding?
• Why Pennsylvania contractors need an HICPA contract
• Statute of limitations in PA: how long do you have to sue?
• How to respond to a writ of summons in Pennsylvania

This article is general information based on a recorded discussion. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney client relationship. Every case is different. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. For advice about your situation, contact Kaminsky Law directly.

Anton Kaminsky Partner

Anton Kaminsky is the founder of Kaminsky Law and a Philadelphia business and employment litigator. He spent over a decade in finance and banking, including trading equities and evaluating strategies at a hedge fund, before earning his law degree at Temple and litigating for five years at Bochetto & Lentz. He represents small businesses and individuals in shareholder disputes, contract fights, and employment claims across Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

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