Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Petty Lawsuit ("we," "our," or "us") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our platform for filing small claims court cases.

2. Information We Collect

Personal Information

• Identity Data: Name, address, phone number, email address
• Payment Data: Payment card details processed through Stripe (we do not store card numbers)
• Legal Case Data: Information about your case including plaintiff and defendant details, incident descriptions, claim amounts, and court jurisdiction
• Evidence Files: Documents, images, and other files you upload as evidence, along with their metadata and SHA-256 hashes for integrity verification
• Communication Data: Email, SMS text messages, and certified mail correspondence related to your case and demand letters
• Generated Documents: PDFs of court forms and demand letters created through our platform
• SMS Consent Data: Your opt-in status for receiving text message notifications about your case

Technical Information

• IP address and browser information
• Device type and operating system
• Usage data and interaction with our platform
• Session information and cookies

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your information for the following purposes:

• Service Delivery: To process your small claims cases, generate legal documents, and file court paperwork
• Account Management: To create and manage your account, authenticate users, and provide customer support
• Payment Processing: To process payments for our services through Stripe
• Communication: To send demand letters via email and certified mail, and to communicate about your cases
• AI-Powered Features: To provide intelligent suggestions for claim amounts, business name normalization, and venue selection
• Legal Compliance: To comply with legal obligations and protect our legal rights
• Security and Fraud Prevention: To maintain platform security and prevent fraudulent activities
• Improvement: To analyze usage patterns and improve our services

4. Information Sharing and Disclosure

We share your information with:

Service Providers

• Privy: For authentication services (Privacy Policy)
• Stripe: For payment processing (Privacy Policy)
• Lob: For certified mail services (Privacy Policy)
• Mailgun: For email delivery (Privacy Policy)
• Twilio: For SMS text message delivery (Privacy Policy)

Phone Number Protection

We do NOT sell, rent, or share your phone number with third parties for marketing purposes. Your phone number is used solely to send you case-related notifications, updates, and reminders that you have consented to receive. We will never provide your phone number to advertisers or other companies for their own marketing use.

Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if required by law, court order, or government regulation, or if we believe disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, prevent fraud, or ensure user safety.

Business Transfers

In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred to the acquiring entity.

5. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your information:

• Encryption of data in transit using TLS/SSL
• Encryption of sensitive data at rest
• Access controls and authentication requirements
• Regular security assessments and updates
• SHA-256 hashing of evidence files for integrity verification
• Secure session management

6. Data Retention

We retain your information for as long as necessary to:

• Provide our services and maintain your account
• Comply with legal obligations (including court filing requirements)
• Resolve disputes and enforce our agreements
• Maintain records for tax and accounting purposes

Case data and evidence files are retained for up to 7 years after case completion to comply with legal requirements. You may request deletion of your data subject to legal retention requirements.

7. Your Rights and Choices

Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights:

• Access: Request a copy of your personal information
• Correction: Request correction of inaccurate information
• Deletion: Request deletion of your information (subject to legal requirements)

California Privacy Rights (CCPA/CPRA)

California residents have additional rights including the right to know what information we collect, the right to delete information, the right to opt-out of sale (we do not sell personal information), and the right to non-discrimination.

European Privacy Rights (GDPR)

If you are in the European Economic Area, you have rights under the General Data Protection Regulation including the rights listed above and the right to lodge a complaint with your supervisory authority.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at support@pettylawsuit.com.

8. Children's Privacy

Our services are not directed to individuals under 18 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 18. If we become aware that we have collected information from a child under 18, we will take steps to delete such information.

9. International Data Transfers

Your information may be transferred to and processed in countries other than your country of residence. These countries may have different data protection laws. We will take appropriate safeguards to ensure your information remains protected in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

10. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to track activity on our platform and hold certain information. You can instruct your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent.

11. AI and Automated Decision-Making

We use AI technology to assist with:

• Suggesting appropriate claim amounts based on case details
• Normalizing business names for defendant lookup
• Determining proper court venue and jurisdiction
• Generating demand letter content suggestions

These are suggestions only. You maintain full control over all decisions and can modify any AI-generated content. We do not use fully automated decision-making that produces legal effects.

12. SMS/Text Message Communications

If you opt in to receive SMS text messages from PettyLawsuit, we collect and use your phone number to send you:

• Case status updates and notifications
• Court deadline reminders
• Document filing confirmations
• Important account notifications

Your SMS Privacy Rights

• Opt-Out: You can stop receiving SMS messages at any time by replying STOP to any message
• Help: Reply HELP to any message for assistance, or contact support@pettylawsuit.com
• No Sale of Phone Numbers: We never sell, rent, or share your phone number with third parties for marketing purposes

Message frequency varies based on your case activity. Standard message and data rates may apply.

13. Updates to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the "Last updated" date. For material changes, we will provide additional notice via email or through the platform.

14. Contact Information

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact us at:

Understanding Your Privacy Rights When Using Legal Technology

When you use a legal technology platform like PettyLawsuit, you are entrusting us with some of the most sensitive information you have: details about legal disputes, financial records, personal addresses, and communications with parties on the other side of a conflict. We take that responsibility seriously, and we want you to understand not just what data we collect, but why we collect it and how we protect it at every stage.

All data transmitted between your browser and our servers is encrypted using industry-standard TLS 1.3 encryption protocols. Your case documents, evidence files, and personal information are stored in encrypted databases hosted on secure cloud infrastructure with redundant backups. We implement strict access controls so that only the systems and personnel necessary to deliver our services can access your data. Our payment processing is handled entirely by Stripe, a PCI Level 1 certified payment processor, which means we never see or store your credit card numbers on our servers.

We are committed to minimizing the data we collect to only what is strictly necessary to provide our services. We do not sell your personal information to third parties, we do not use your case details for advertising purposes, and we do not share your information with anyone who is not directly involved in delivering our services to you. When you delete your account, we remove your personal data from our active systems within 30 days, retaining only what is legally required for compliance with court filing records and financial reporting obligations.

If you are a resident of California, you have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), including the right to know what personal information we have collected about you, the right to request deletion of that information, and the right to opt out of any sale of your personal information. Residents of states with similar privacy laws, such as Virginia, Colorado, and Connecticut, have comparable protections. We honor all valid privacy requests regardless of your state of residence, and we strive to respond to all requests within the legally required timeframes. If you have any concerns about how your data is being handled, our privacy team is available at support@pettylawsuit.com to answer your questions and address your concerns promptly.