In California, you can sue a business for a maximum of $10,000 if you are an individual. If you are a business suing a business, you can sue for a maximum of $5,000. By suing in small claims you are agreeing to waive any amount over the maximum amount you can sue for, even if you are owed more.

So, yes you can sue your employer for workplace stress under certain circumstances. Generally, if the stress is due to ordinary workplace incidents such as a demanding supervisor, long hours, or difficult co-workers, you can bring a work-induced stress claim to the worker’s compensation system.

Retaliation Is Illegal Doing so is against the law. This means that if you like your job and intend to keep it despite your reason to sue, your employer can’t base a decision to terminate you on the fact that you filed a lawsuit against them.

If you lose a civil case and are ordered to pay money to the winning side, you become a judgment debtor. The court will not collect the money for your creditor, but if you do not pay voluntarily, the creditor (the person you owe money to) can use different enforcement tools to get you to pay the judgment.

Here are five people who sued big companies and actually won and got justice. This first one isn’t the suing of a big company but a suing of a big country. The United States found itself at the center of a court battle regarding the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA enacted in 1996.

No warning, no anger and no headaches. Taking a big company to small claims court of course only applies when you have been legitimately and materially wronged by the company. We’re not talking about spurious claims and people trying to unfairly profit.

Companies have different structures and liabilities. For example, if you sue a corporation such as Verizon, the liability applies to both the corporation and its registered individual owners. If you sue a limited liability company (LLC) such as Uber, only the business itself can be liable for damages.

Scott Olson / Getty Images file In two decisions Thursday, the Supreme Court made it easier for consumers to sue companies that have a nationwide presence and to hold police accountable for excessive use of force.