Rule 140.05 Rules - When None Applicable - Procedure

Small claims court has its own set of rules, but those rules don't cover every possible situation. When something comes up that isn't addressed by the small claims rules, the court will follow the same procedures used in the associate circuit division instead.

This means the small claims court won't just make up a process on its own if a gap exists. It borrows from the rules already used in associate circuit cases, so there's still a clear standard to follow.

There's one limit on this. The court can only borrow from associate circuit procedures if doing so doesn't conflict with the specific small claims rules (Rules 140 through 152). If a small claims rule already covers the situation, that rule wins. Associate circuit procedures only fill in the blanks when small claims rules are silent.