Pro Se litigant in low value civil suit, next steps and responsibilities.

First, this answer is not legal advice and does not create an attorney client relationship. With that understanding, I will attempt to point you in the right direction. First, is all of this really worth $675? I'd probably walk away - from the tone of your writen question, it is obvious that this issue has already robbed you of more than $675 worth of life.

While I am not a Nebraska lawyer and cannot speak specifically to Nebraska law, I will tell you a few generalalities about what you will need to prove. Most states have a "Civil Procedure Code" or "Rules of Civil Procedure" that govern all non-criminal actions. It is there you will find the answer about disclosing certain information. Generally speaking, there is a "Discovery" phase of litigation - each side gets to ask the other questions, take depositions etc. Some states even have "standing discovery" - meaning that there is certain information you have to give to the other side without even being asked for it. You will need to check the Nebraska code. At the end of the day, it is most likely that you will have to provide copies of all "evidence" (i.e. bills and records) you intend to use at trial to the other side in advance of the trial (usually not later than some sort of pre-trial meeting witht he court).

Your bigger problem is understanding what you can and cannot have actually entered into evidence and what foundation you need to enter certain evidence. For instance, as a general rule, most jurisdictions have some form of a "hearsay" rule. "Hearsay" is an out of court statement (i.e. not made under oath) offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted therein. In other words, if I offer a speeding ticket as evidence to prove that you were speeding, it is precluded as hearsay. It is an out of court statement (was written by a police officer not under oath when he wrote it) and I am using it to prove exactly what it says ... you were speeding. If, on the other hand, I offer that same speeding ticket to show that you were in Georgia, as evidenced by the ticket date/time/place, when the accident happened in Florida and, therefore, you could not have been driving the car involved in the accident ... then the ticket is admissible because I am not offering it to show the truth of the matter asserted therein, i.e. speeding. It seems like you have likely going to have some significant evidentiary issues with the "documents" you have referenced. You will likely first need to "authenticate" them by the "records custodian" (probably your wife) to show that they are "kept in the ordinary course of business" With respect to your testimony, you will not likely be able to say what you heard, but should be able to say what you "saw."

I hope this helps. My best advice to you is to find a young lawyer - right out of school - who is anxious to cut his/her teeth and will do this case pro bono just for the courtroom experience. They'll be all hyped up about cross-examination etc. It will be good for both of you ... he/she can get some experience in a case that is not so complex his/her inexperience can really harm your case (they will know the basics from law school, but just may not speak as elloquent) and they will get some good experience. Good luck.

You should watch the segment on Small Claims Cases produced by The Legal Television Network.