Wednesday, October 21, 2026.

Small claims court is built so you can walk in without a lawyer. The price of that is there is no appeal. One hearing, decision final. Below is where to find the rule behind each step, so you can check it yourself.

THE ROUTINE AND WHERE TO VERIFY IT

(1) Build the record before you file. The agreement or the invoice. Every text and email where they acknowledged the debt. Proof of what you delivered. A dated log of every time you asked to be paid.

(2) Check whether you are still in time. In Arizona a debt on a written contract runs six years, A.R.S. section 12-548. An oral agreement or an open account runs three, section 12-543.

(3) Send one written demand. State the facts, name one specific number, give a date, no emotion and no threats. Send it so delivery is proven and keep the receipt.

(4) Check the dollar limit before you pick the court. Arizona small claims is $5,000 or less, A.R.S. section 22-503(A). It was $3,500 until 2025, raised by Senate Bill 1022, 2025 Ariz. Sess. Laws ch. 94. The state's own small claims packets still print $3,500. The handout is not the law.

(5) The whole claim has to fit under the limit. You cannot split one debt into two cases to get under it.

(6) Understand the trade. No attorney can appear, A.R.S. section 22-512(B), unless both sides stipulate in writing, section 22-512(C). The price is that there is no appeal, A.R.S. section 22-519. The decision is final and binding. To keep an appeal alive, ask to transfer to the civil division of justice court before the hearing.

(7) File where they are or where it happened, A.R.S. section 12-401.

(8) Serve them the way the court requires. Certified mail, return receipt, restricted delivery. If anyone other than the named defendant signs, service is no good and you need a licensed process server. A company is served through its statutory agent or an officer. File proof of service within 45 days or the case can be dismissed.

(9) The defendant has 20 calendar days to answer.

TODAY'S PROMPT: COUNTERPUNCH RECORD

Get it at DamonCharlesWilliams.com.

This is Arizona. Every state sets its own dollar limit, its own rule on attorneys, and its own rule on appeals. Look up yours. This episode is information, not legal advice.

A collector is calling about money the business owes. You look up your rights and find the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The five day notice. The thirty day window to dispute. The duty to stop collecting until they verify.

Then you find out none of it applies to you.

The Act defines a debt as an obligation of a consumer from a transaction primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(5). A debt your business owes is commercial. Courts have said so plainly. See American Credit Card Processing Corp. v. Fairchild, 11 Misc. 3d 972 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Suffolk County 2006).

So the leverage is not the statute. It is the contract and the record.

Five things I ask for in writing:

(1) Who owns this debt today, and every assignment from the original creditor.

(2) The original agreement with my signature on it.

(3) A full accounting from the first dollar. Every charge, every payment, every fee.

(4) The date of the last payment, because that is what starts the clock on how long they can sue.

(5) Their legal name, state of registration, and collection license number.

Then two things the federal act does not reach. Whether my own state's collection law covers business debt, because many states go further than the federal law does. And my state's time limit for suing on a written contract.

Today's prompt: Validation Request. Because of 11/30/22 you can get it at DamonCharlesWilliams.com and use it today.

Information only, not legal advice.

A letter from the IRS is not a judgment. It starts a process with steps and dates. Here are the 10 steps, and where to check each one yourself.

(1) Read the notice number and the reply date.

(2) Read the IRS publication the notice points to (Publications 1, 594, 3498 A).

(3) Check the law. Publications are not law. Zimmerman v. Commissioner, 71 T.C. 367, 371 (1978). The law is Title 26 of the U.S. Code and its regulations.

(4) Decide whether to bring in a tax professional (Form 2848; Taxpayer Advocate Service, 26 U.S.C. § 7803(c)).

(5) Agree, partly agree, or disagree, with documents.

(6) Answer in writing by the date on the notice.

(7) Independent Office of Appeals, 26 U.S.C. § 7803(e); Publication 5.

(8) Notice of deficiency: 90 days to petition the U.S. Tax Court, 26 U.S.C. § 6213(a).

(9) Appeal, 26 U.S.C. § 7482.

(10) Determination, 26 U.S.C. § 7481.

Watch for: Form 870 waives your right to go to Tax Court before the tax is assessed. A final notice of intent to levy has its own 30 day appeal on Form 12153.

Today's prompt: Tax Notice Responder. Get it at DamonCharlesWilliams.com.

Verify every deadline on the notice and on irs.gov. Information only, not tax or legal advice.