(A) An action is commenced in the small claims division when the plaintiff, or the plaintiff's attorney, states the amount and nature of the plaintiff's claim to the court as provided in this section. The commencement constitutes a waiver of any right of the plaintiff to trial by jury upon such action. At the time of the commencement of an action, the plaintiff, or the plaintiff's attorney, shall pay both of the following:
(1) A filing fee as determined by the court;
(2) The sum required by division (C) of section 1901.26 or division (C) of section 1907.24 of the Revised Code.
(B) The plaintiff, or the plaintiff's attorney, shall state to the administrative assistant or other official designated by the court, the plaintiff's and the defendant's place of residence, the military status of the defendant, and the nature and amount of the plaintiff's claim. The claim shall be reduced to writing in concise, nontechnical form. Such writing shall be signed by the plaintiff, or the plaintiff's attorney, under oath.
A memorandum of the time and place set for trial shall be given to the person signing the writing. The time set for such trial shall be not less than fifteen or more than forty days after the commencement of the action.
If taxes are sought to be recovered in the action, an authorized employee of a political subdivision or an authorized officer or employee of the state, as defined in section 1925.02 of the Revised Code, may commence the action. If an action is brought on behalf of a county department of job and family services, a representative of the prosecuting attorney of the county, designated under section 1925.18 of the Revised Code, may commence the action.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 25
cases (10 in the last 5 years), 1984–2026 · leading case: Cleveland Bar Ass'n v. Pearlman, 106 Ohio St. 3d 136 (Ohio 2005).
Cleveland Bar Ass'n v. Pearlman, 106 Ohio St. 3d 136 (Ohio 2005). · cites it 2דR.C. 1925.04(A). Since claims must be set for hearing within 15 to 40 days after the complaint is filed, cases move quickly.”
Abram v. Eldermen Props., L.L.C., 2021 Ohio 523 (Ohio Ct. App. 2021). · cites it 9ד] The trial court erred and was without authority to grant judgment to plaintiff-appellee because her complaint statutorily failed to commence an action before the court pursuant to R.C. 1925.04. III. First Assignment of Error – Civ.”
Jeffers v. Bumgardner, 2016 Ohio 4655 (Ohio Ct. App. 2016). · cites it 5דThe following day, the trial court appropriately denied the request based on R.C. 1925.04(A). 2/25/15 J.E. That section indicates the commencement of an action in -2- small claims court “constitutes a waiver of any right of the plaintiff to trial by jury.”
Crenshaw v. Michael J.'s Auto Sales, 2021 Ohio 1468 (Ohio Ct. App. 2021). · cites it 2ד8(A) is not inapposite to R.C. 1925.04). {¶23} Nothing in Crenshaw’s pleading would have put Michael J.”
Heredia Realty, L.L.C. v. Harvey, 2021 Ohio 4218 (Ohio Ct. App. 2021). · cites it 5ד1(C) (“These rules, to the extent that they would by their nature be clearly inapplicable, shall not apply to procedure * * * in small claims matters under Chapter 1925 of the Revised Code.”
Bellbrook Firefighters Assn. v. Haus, 2019 Ohio 3194 (Ohio Ct. App. 2019). · cites it 3ד{¶ 2} We conclude that service was properly completed by ordinary mail of an amended complaint, identical to the original with respect to the nature of the claim, after certified mail of the original complaint went unclaimed, and that the notice of trial date accompanying the…”
Spellman v. Kirchner, 2020 Ohio 3240 (Ohio Ct. App. 2020). “, citing R.C.1925.04(B). Thus, by design, proceedings in small claims courts are informal and geared to allowing individuals to resolve uncomplicated disputes quickly and inexpensively.”
McCrown v. Eichenberger, 2022 Ohio 2861 (Ohio Ct. App. 2022). · cites it 4דThe notice of the trial date accompanying the ordinary mail was within the time parameters of R.C. 1925.04 (“the time set for such trial shall be not less than fifteen or more than forty days after the commencement of the action.”
Horn v. Cherian, 2023 Ohio 931 (Ohio Ct. App. 2023). “” R.C. 1925.04(B). “The legislative intent in establishing the small claims court division was clearly not to require plaintiffs to file complaints similar to those filed by licensed attorneys.”
N. Star Med. Rsch., L.L.C. v. Kozlovich, 2025 Ohio 5410 (Ohio Ct. App. 2025). · cites it 4דFor instance, in small-claims actions, the provisions of R.C. 1925.04 supersede the more specific pleading requirements of Civ.”
Simon v. Durham, 649 N.E.2d 1240 (Ohio Ct. App. 1994). “Although the pleading requirements in small claims are relaxed, under R.C. 1925.04(B), a plaintiff is still required to serve notice on a defendant of the amount claimed in dollars and cents.”
Beckett v. Wisniewski, 2009 Ohio 6158 (Ohio Ct. App. 2009). “R.C. 1925.04(A). “The goal of small claims court is *** to provide fast and fair adjudication as an alternative to the traditional judicial -5- Case No.”
Cleveland Bar Ass'n v. Pearlman, 106 Ohio St. 3d 136 (Ohio 2005). “R.C. 1925.04(A). Since claims must be set for hearing within 15 to 40 days after the complaint is filed, cases move quickly.”
Jeffers v. Bumgardner, 2016 Ohio 4655 (Ohio Ct. App. 2016). “The following day, the trial court appropriately denied the request based on R.C. 1925.04(A). 2/25/15 J.E. That section indicates the commencement of an action in -2- small claims court “constitutes a waiver of any right of the plaintiff to trial by jury.”
Crenshaw v. Michael J.'s Auto Sales, 2021 Ohio 1468 (Ohio Ct. App. 2021). “8(A) is not inapposite to R.C. 1925.04). {¶23} Nothing in Crenshaw’s pleading would have put Michael J.”
Abram v. Eldermen Props., L.L.C., 2021 Ohio 523 (Ohio Ct. App. 2021). “] The trial court erred and was without authority to grant judgment to plaintiff-appellee because her complaint statutorily failed to commence an action before the court pursuant to R.C. 1925.04. III. First Assignment of Error – Civ.”
Beckett v. Wisniewski, 2009 Ohio 6158 (Ohio Ct. App. 2009). “R.C. 1925.04(A). “The goal of small claims court is *** to provide fast and fair adjudication as an alternative to the traditional judicial -5- Case No.”
— Ohio Rev. Code § 1925.04(B) — 14 cases
Cleveland Bar Ass'n v. Pearlman, 106 Ohio St. 3d 136 (Ohio 2005). “R.C. 1925.04(A). Since claims must be set for hearing within 15 to 40 days after the complaint is filed, cases move quickly.”
Abram v. Eldermen Props., L.L.C., 2021 Ohio 523 (Ohio Ct. App. 2021). “] The trial court erred and was without authority to grant judgment to plaintiff-appellee because her complaint statutorily failed to commence an action before the court pursuant to R.C. 1925.04. III. First Assignment of Error – Civ.”
Jeffers v. Bumgardner, 2016 Ohio 4655 (Ohio Ct. App. 2016). “The following day, the trial court appropriately denied the request based on R.C. 1925.04(A). 2/25/15 J.E. That section indicates the commencement of an action in -2- small claims court “constitutes a waiver of any right of the plaintiff to trial by jury.”
Bellbrook Firefighters Assn. v. Haus, 2019 Ohio 3194 (Ohio Ct. App. 2019). “{¶ 2} We conclude that service was properly completed by ordinary mail of an amended complaint, identical to the original with respect to the nature of the claim, after certified mail of the original complaint went unclaimed, and that the notice of trial date accompanying the…”
Spellman v. Kirchner, 2020 Ohio 3240 (Ohio Ct. App. 2020). “, citing R.C.1925.04(B). Thus, by design, proceedings in small claims courts are informal and geared to allowing individuals to resolve uncomplicated disputes quickly and inexpensively.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.