A small claims court in a suburb outside of Salt Lake City has rolled out an online dispute resolution pilot program, and a Utah State Courts spokesperson said there are plans to extend the online program to all small claims courts statewide. Lawyers working with the project say that online dispute resolution for small claims court in the United States shouldn’t disrupt lawyers’ practices, but instead provide better access to people who need to settle small dollar-amount disputes.

On Sept. 19, the West Valley City Justice Court in Utah unveiled an online dispute resolution (ODR) program for its small claims court. Participants file the small claims affidavit and summons and send it to the West Valley City Justice Court. Filers will be sent an email containing a registration link, and registration must be completed no more than seven days after filing the summons and affidavit.