Sure, SG, I'll give it a shot, but it's a big subject. Most states have nothing like PACER (the federal courts database), and so finding the cases is far more difficult. I knew both parties in the case SBM is posting about, so finding the right case was easier, and I was able to direct SBM (thank you, SBM!) to the right courthouse and docket.
So, to find a case in a courthouse, first you must have some sort of index. The cases themselves are physically organized in every courthouse I know by index (docket) number, so parties starting with "A" will have their files right next to those starting with "Z".
Q: What is the relationship between the numbers "22" and "846"?
A: They're adjacent rooms at the Warsaw Hilton.
Ahem. So most courthouses have some sort of alphabetical party index which directs you to the right docket numbers. Some are electronic, some on paper. So if you want "Mary Kay", you look that up in the party index. The problem is that this is pretty brute-force: you can just as easily find suits over a commercial debt as ones claiming that MK is a blatant pyramid ripoff. Sometimes the docket books will tell you, sometimes not, and sometimes they'll only tell you by means of a code the meaning of which is not obvious.
For example, from a WestLaw search:
CASE INFORMATION
Case Number: 0103583L
Filing Date: 04/30/2001
Case Type: DAMAGES
Case Category: 28440
Filing Office: DALLAS COUNTY DISTRICT COURT - 193RD CIVIL DISTRICT
Venue: DALLAS, TX
PARTY INFORMATION
Plaintiff: ALONSO CYNTHIA MINOR
Plaintiff: ALONSO JENNIFER MINOR
Plaintiff: ALONSO MARIA ETAL
Defendant: MARY KAY INC ETAL
Defendant: HOLT PATSY J
It gives you the Court, the docket number, the parties, but you have no idea what the suit is about. The word "Damages" just means the case is not only about (for example) an injunction.
Another example:
LAWSUIT RECORDS
Current Date: 06/20/2007
Court Current Through: 06-15-2007
Source: CLERK OF THE COURT, DALLAS COUNTY DISTRICT COURT, TX
Database Last Updated: 06-18-2007
CASE INFORMATION
Case Number: 0500857C
Filing Date: 01/26/2005
Case Type: DAMAGES
Case Category: 28440
Filing Office: DALLAS COUNTY DISTRICT COURT - 68TH CIVIL DISTRICT
Venue: DALLAS, TX
PARTY INFORMATION
Plaintiff: ANISA INTERNATIONAL I
Plaintiff: MS PERRY COMPANY INC
Plaintiff: PERRY MICHAEL
Plaintiff: PERRY STARR
Defendant: MARY KAY INC ETAL
Defendant: MARY KAY COSMETICS IN
Defendant: MARY KAY GLOBAL INC
Defendant: MARY KAY HOLDING CORP
Defendant: MARY KAY INTERNATIONA
Defendant: MARY KAY WORLDWIDE IN
Same story. The letter "C" after the docket number may mean "commercial" - it does in at least one courthouse I know of - and thus not be something you're interested in, but it may not. Given both the number of plaintiffs and the fact that they are also companies makes the conclusion that it is a commercial suit more likely - but certainly not definite.
Hint: the WestLaw search of the string "Mary Kay" as a party to a lawsuit yields 1715 hits
for Texas alone. Without more information, needle in haystack territory.
If you have something specific in mind, I'll be glad to run it for you if you have no other access.