It's been forever since I've seen an episode of Judge Judy, but it was all "small claims court" stuff in the past. Those cases don't require an attorney. In some states, any filing fee that's required by the plaintiff is owed by the defendant, if the case is decided in the favor of the plaintiff.

And yes, compared to other countries, it seems that the US is "sue crazy", esoecially in some particular states, like California. Some people seem to just do it because they're mad, or want to inconvenience the other party.